Time Warps
by Sketchachu
Summary: After two adventures across time, Linkle thought her days of being a Hero were finally over. Little did she know that fate had one more surprise for her, one that would send her skyward.
1. Prologue

**Wow, it's been two years since I first started this, and I'm nowhere near done. Pfft, goes to show I'm bad with long-term ideas, I guess. Time sure does fly. Anyways, I beat Skyward Sword again (in Hero Mode this time AND still got the Hylian Shield, suck it, motion controls!), and I felt a really strong urge to come back to this story. I always meant to, but I just never had the motivation. But, I do now, so here goes nothing! Time Warps 2.0, coming right at'cha!**

 **(Update posted 1.7.2018)**

* * *

"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!" Romani squealed as our wagon bumbled along the dirt path. We were heading to the annual Carnival of Time that took place in Clock Town, and Romani, being the excitable girl she was, could barely contain her energy. I practically had to hold her down to keep her from vibrating out of the wagon.

"Romani, it's not like we don't go to the Carnival of Time every year," I chuckled as I ruffled her hair, "but I suppose someone around here has to keep the energy up, huh?"

"Oh, you're no fun, Grasshopper! You must've been spooked by something when you were younger, 'cuz sometimes, it's like you're all work and no play!"

"We're here!" Cremia called from the front of the wagon, saving me from having to come up with a response. Romani burst out of the wagon and dashed into Clock Town, not even bothering to wait for the wagon to come to a complete stop. Cremia and I shared a laugh at her enthusiasm as we tied up our ride before making our way over to the Carnival.

I never introduced myself, did I? Well, my name's Linkle. I have a ton of nicknames, but the one most people have used is Link. I also happen to be the Hero of Time. Boy, was that a shocker to find out, especially since I was just a nine-year-old girl when fate kicked into gear. But, that story is one for another day. All you really need to know right now is that after a lot of weird time shenanigans, I ended up in the world of Termina with no way of returning to Hyrule.

The Carnival was in full swing by the time we arrived, and so Clock Town was bustling with life. Lights and banners were strewn across the town, adding all sorts of color to the normally plain streets. People of all races—Goron, Zora, Deku, and Hylian (though I suppose Terminan might be the better word)—were wearing masks and dancing all around the square, making the most of the night. As fantastic as the sight was, my mind still wandered back to six years ago, when the moon nearly crashed into Termina. It almost seemed like a fever dream, and if it weren't for the fact that I'd been stuck here for the entire time, I would have likely written it off as such.

Romani suddenly appeared in front of me, cutting off my thoughts. If it weren't for the mask she was wearing, I was certain I'd see a child-like gleam in her eyes. Romani grabbed onto Cremia and me and started to drag us farther into town. "Come on, the Indigo-Go's are about to perform their new song! We can't miss it!"

I easily slipped my arm out of Romani's grip. "Romani, I'd really rather not. Not right now, anyways."

"Come on, Grasshopper! You always try to find some sort of excuse not to go see them. I don't see why; they're super cool and their music is a-ma-zing!"

I felt a bit bad for avoiding seeing the Indigo-Go's in person, but the fiasco surrounding the death of their lead guitarist, Mikau, was still a sore spot for me after all this time. You see, while I was trying to save Termina from the falling moon, I came across Mikau as he was dying in the bay. I couldn't do anything to save him. Not physically, anyways. I was able to put his soul to rest, and by doing so, received a mask that allowed me to take on his likeness. I wasn't careful the first time around and Lulu ended up seeing me take off the mask. The heartbreak in her eyes when I had to tell her the truth…it something I couldn't bear, and it continued to follow me into this timeline.

As I struggled for a response, Cremia jumped in and saved me. "Romani, I'm sure Linkle has her reasons for not going, even if she's not comfortable with telling us what they are. How about we leave her to her own devices, while you and I go listen to that new song?"

"Fine..." Romani grudgingly agreed. As the sisters walked off, Romani whirled around to face me. "Someday, you're going to tell us everything, Grasshopper!"

I shrugged and turned the other way, heading back to the main square. After the trip down that particular memory lane, I wasn't really in the mood to join in on the festivities. I slipped into the base of Clock Tower, the huge doors and walls muting the rest of the Carnival. Slowly, I followed the path deeper into the basement of the tower, eyeing the moss that had long since taken over the interior. My stroll ended in front of two stone slabs, the gateway between Termina and Hyrule. The doors were covered in moss and extremely eroded, showing no signs of the fact that it opened merely six years ago, when I had chased Skull Kid into this world.

I sighed. The people of Termina were great, really. People from everywhere hailed me as a hero for stopping their eminent destruction, Cremia was nice enough to let me stay at her ranch when I mentioned I had nowhere to go, so on and so forth. The main problem was that nearly everyone looked like an exact replica of someone I met in Hyrule. Even after all this time, I desperately wanted to return to my homeland, not only because of my ties to it, but because I wanted to find my partner from my first journey, Navi. After we had sealed Ganon away and were sent back to before any of Ganondorf's plans were put into action, she had flown off, and I never found out what had happened to her.

My fingers lightly traced the designs etched into the doors as nostalgia took over. I had searched every inch of this tower, trying to find some secret to returning home, but there was never anything to be found other than stone-cold disappointment. After a few years, I forced myself to accept the fact that the doors would never open again in this lifetime and diverted my energy to helping around the ranch and keeping the peace in Termina.

Just as I was about to remove my hand, I brushed against a strange texture in the stone. I paused. I had all but memorized every detail of the doors, yet this was something new. I scraped the moss off of the area in question, revealing the appearance of lines with dots on them. Upon closer inspection, the carving looked more and more like a song.

I felt the hope of returning home flare back to life within me once more. "Could… could this really be it? Will this take me back to Hyrule?" I pulled out the Ocarina of Time, a gift from Princess Zelda when I had first left to find Navi, and now perhaps the key to returning to her. Putting the ocarina to my lips, I began to play the song on the stone. It was a song I had never heard before, yet at the same time, I couldn't help but feel I had played it countless times.

As the last note's echo faded, the inscription began to glow with an azure light. It grew stronger and stronger, filling me with a strange sense of dread. Whatever was happening, it certainly wasn't opening the doors. I tried to scramble back, but my sword managed to catch the edge of a stone, causing me to crash into the ground. The light grew in intensity, and I was forced to cover my eyes as I was whisked away from Clock Tower.

* * *

I thought that after going through time to save Hyrule AND Termina, my adventure was over. I thought that, even if I couldn't go back home, I'd at least be able to live a peaceful life. It was a reasonable thought. Reasonable, but still dead-wrong. I was still fate's favorite puppet to mess with, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the storm to come.


	2. Dawn of a New Day

**Well, I had a burst of energy and got through quite a few chapters already, so I'll go ahead and post this one now. I definitely like how it turned out so much more than the original version. It's amazing what a couple years can do for improvement.**

 **Mari: Glad you're looking forward to it! I know I am, too. The rewritten chapters have so much more to them, and I have a vague idea of where I want this to go now. Also, Linkle in this story is the Hero of Time, so she's technically the one from Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, just with an actual personality and a girl instead of a guy because Reasons.**

 **(Updated posted 1.8.2018)**

 _ **(Obligatory I do not own Legend of Zelda because if I did, Breath of the Wild would have had a substantial storyline to it)**_

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Day_

Once the light faded, I was enveloped in darkness. As my eyes adjusted to the new gloom, I quickly made note of the lack of ancient doors in front of me. The air of mystery that always seemed to surround Clock Tower was gone, too. Instead of feeling like I was surrounded by magic, it just felt like I was surrounded by way too much humidity.

Dusting off my tunic, I got to my feet and began walking. I had to find a way out of whatever cave I was in before figuring out my complete plan of action. I managed to find an exit with little difficulty, save for the occasional monster that would jump out at me. I allowed my eyes to adjust once more, and I was frozen where I stood.

Clock Town was nowhere to be seen. In fact, Termina in general was nowhere to be seen. While I had expected something of the sort, I wasn't exactly prepared to see a river falling off the edge of an island in the sky. Or how there were people flying around on huge birds. Or how, well, peaceful everything was.

Overcoming my initial shock, I thought back to some of the ancient texts I had looked at with Zelda before I left Hyrule as well as the few times I tried using the Ocarina of Time to look through the timeline. It was incredibly difficult to recall most of it after so much time had passed, but I managed to recall one important bit of information. In Hyrule's ancient past, legends spoke of how the Goddess Hylia had sent her people skyward to protect them from the wrath of the Demon King. These people had flourished and lived peaceful lives up in the sky, protected by a cloud barrier. Everything I saw fit the description.

 _Oh Farore. This can't be happening,_ I thought. _I can't possibly be involved in another time paradox. I've had enough of those to last a lifetime._

I started edging back towards the cave. I hadn't been spotted yet, after all. A small part of me hoped that if I remained unseen, I'd be able to avoid whatever messy consequences there would be in the timeline.

"Hey, who's that girl by the cave? It looks like she's wearing a knight's uniform, but I've never seen her before."

I flinched back at the sound of a voice. So much for not being seen. I made a quick scan of the people walking my direction. One of them almost reminded me of the Hero of Twilight, but his eyes and hair were the wrong color, as well as the fact that his tunic was yellow instead of green. The girl next to him also had a tunic, but she had a beret instead of long hat. A loss on her part, as far as I was concerned. And the girl next to her… I quietly gasped. That girl, with her blonde hair and kind blue eyes…she looked almost exactly like Princess Zelda.

The Zelda look-alike was the first to approach me. I couldn't quite understand the language right off the bat, but I didn't necessarily need to at that moment. I was still able to recognize the sound of ancient Hylian and the word "Zelda". I was in Hyrule's Sky Era. This girl's name was Zelda. And she looked like the Zelda I knew. It felt like the whole situation just smashed me in the face with a bunch of bricks, and I had no time to fully comprehend all of it.

"Um, my name is Linkle." My tongue felt like led as I tried my best to speak the Hylian of this era.

"Linkle?" Zelda tilted her head in thought. "Huh. That sounds a lot like a friend of mine. You wouldn't happen to know someone named Link, would you?"

Of course there was an incarnation of the Hero here already. Just my luck. We probably looked similar, too, if the spirit of the Hero had as strong of an influence as I suspected it to. I screwed up big-time by telling her my name.

"Ah, no, I would not really say that," I said as I stared at the ground. "Look, it is…complicated, and I really do not think this is the best place to even try to explain any of it. Even if I did describe it, I am not sure you would fully understand."

Zelda gave me a kind smile. "Well, perhaps my father can help you out. He's one of the wisest people on Skyloft! Follow me, I'll take you to him!" She took my hand before I could even protest and guided me to the people she was originally with.

"So, Zel, who is she?" The girl from Zelda's group look at me with curiosity.

"This is Linkle," Zelda said as she gestured to me. "I'm taking her to see my father to see if we can get some matters sorted out."

The other girl nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Linkle. My name's Karane, and this guy here is Pipit."

Pipit wasn't nearly as friendly as the girls. It felt like he was trying to see right through me as he stared directly into my face.

"Linkle, huh? Looks like you have some version of the knight's uniform on. Mind telling me what graduating class you were in?"

I felt the confusion show on my face. "Uh, a what now?"

Zelda laughed merrily. "Oh, lighten up a bit, Pipit! There's no need to interrogate someone you just met! Come on, let's head back to the Academy already."

We hopped across the river and started to what I presumed to be the main part of Skyloft. Zelda and Karane were quick to prove my suspicions correct, telling me about the bazaar and plaza, both of which we passed by. They also talked about a café called The Lumpy Pumpkin as well as some of the functions of the Knight Academy, our destination. Pipit jumped into the conversation as soon as the Academy was mentioned, raving about the various training facilities they had and the honor that came with being a knight of Skyloft. I tried my best to listen to everyone, but my ancient Hylian was still rusty, and I couldn't help but stare in wonder at the huge birds soaring through the sky.

"We're here," Karane whispered as she poked my shoulder. I snapped out of my daze and realized we were at the front of a rather large building. I coulnd't recall seeing any other buildings on Skyloft that could compare, save for maybe the bazaar's tent.

"Here we are!" Zelda clapped her hands together. "Welcome to the Knight Academy! My father's actually the headmaster here. I'm thinking we'll be able to find him in his room."

My arm was grabbed for what had to have been the third time in less than 24 hours as Zelda led me through the winding halls of the Academy. I did my best to make mental notes of the layout of the building, the years of exploring dungeons finally doing me a favor.

Eventually, we entered a room that looked very much like a library. If it weren't for the bed in a connected room, I would have certainly thought that was the case. Sitting at the desk in the center of the room was a rather large man wearing an orange robe. He looked up from the book he was reading after Zelda cleared her throat.

"Ah, Zelda," the man spoke, "it's nice to see you. Who is your friend there?"

Zelda looked at me. "This is Linkle. I met her by the cave under the waterfall."

The man nodded. "Well, it is nice to meet you, Linkle. I am Gaepora, the headmaster of this academy, as my daughter probably told you. May I ask where you are from?"

I shuffled in place, trying to come up with words. "Um, well…" I wasn't sure how much I could actually tell them without completely screwing things up. Such is the problem that comes with time travel. At the same time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to make progress on returning to my own time unless I gained allies, and remaining completely secretive wouldn't help my case. "I am not sure exactly how much I can tell you. I am not fully…understanding of the Hylian here, but I can try."

Gaepora looked at me in surprise. "Not fully understanding? Do you mean to say that you're not fluent in Hylian?" When I hesitantly nodded my head, he shook his in disbelief. "But Hylian is the only known language! What other language could you have possibly been speaking until now?"

"Hylian?" I offered sheepishly. "But, um, not Hylian from here. If I remember, it is Hylian from… I do not even know. I also do not know the words, but a very long time in the future."

"Linkle," Zelda piped up, "are you saying…you came from the future?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, "that is also why I am not sure how much I can say. I have been caught up in enough time…things as it is. I do not want to add another big one to the pile."

Gaepora frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not certain I believe you. I'm sure you can understand why, though."

I nodded, more than used to this type of reaction to my journeys. "I would be surprised if you did believe me. I wish I could prove it, but this is far back in time, and while I am decently familiar with time, it is still, well, time."

Zelda closed her eyes thoughtfully. "Well, suppose she is telling the truth. Father, do you know of any way Linkle could travel back to her own age?"

Gaepora sighed. "I'm afraid not, dear. Time travel is well out of my league. Perhaps she could use whatever method she used to get here?"

"No," I quickly butted in. "There were magic doors and a song. I do not remember the song anymore, and there are no magic doors here."

"Hrm… I'll do some research. Perhaps I'll find something on the subject. In the meantime, so long as you enroll in classes, we could provide you with a room here. Would that work for you, Linkle?"

"That…that would be nice. Thank you." A grin found its way across my face. Living the life of a student at the Academy, studying, making friends… Maybe I'd be able to find the peaceful life I always wanted here in Skyloft.

Gaepora smiled. "Very well then. I will create a schedule for you. Classes start tomorrow, so I'll be sure to have it ready by the morning. Zelda, could you show Linkle to her new room? The empty one near yours should suffice." He held a key out to Zelda, who eagerly took it.

"Of course! Thank you, Father!" Zelda was beaming as she grabbed my arm again. "Come on, Linkle, it's over this way!"

Zelda took me through another series of hallways. It must have been the residential portion of the Academy, considering most of the doors had names on them and were occasionally decorated. We ended our little adventure in front of a door that was a completely blank slate.

"This is the room my father mentioned," Zelda explained as she took out a piece of paper and began writing. "My room is right across from yours, so if you ever need anything, just knock. Ah, also, is this how you spell your name in our language?" She showed me the paper, and after I confirmed it, she smiled and put the paper into a small notch on the door.

"Thank you, Zelda." I was amazed that Zelda took to me so quickly and was already trying to make me feel at home here.

"No problem! We don't get new students that often, so it's always super exciting whenever we do get one." Zelda unlocked the door and handed me the key. "Don't lose this, ok? It's a bit of a pain to replace locks around here. I mean, you do look like the reliable type when it comes to stuff like this, but, still have to mention it, ya know?"

"I can only imagine," I chuckled as I took the key.

"Well, I'll leave you to get yourself situated. Meet me in the hallway in a couple hours to get dinner?"

"Sounds great," I replied. "See you then!"

I opened my door to reveal a small, cozy room. It had what I imagined to be all the essentials of a student here; a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. I grinned as I made my way over to the bed. It would definitely take awhile for me to get used to living here, but, for the first time in a long time, I was actually looking forward to something.

* * *

 **And that's that. Same chapter, more details. In case I wasn't able to make it obvious enough, Linkle was speaking without contractions because languages are hard, and Hylian/Terminan/whatever you want to call it is different in her era.**

 **Also, uh, if you happen to see a ton of Q's anywhere in any future chapters, please tell me. That was how I figured out where I last left off on the rewrite or where a line would go. Sometimes I completely miss them. It happens.**


	3. First Day

**Annnd we're back! Not a whole lot to say about this one, other than I finally add a bit of personality to the characters, Linkle in particular. Goodness gracious, high school junior me really didn't know how to add depth to stories.**

 **(Chapter updated 1.10.18)**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: First Day_

"Hey...Link...ke up..."

I was pulled from my sleep by a familiar sounding voice. Annoyed, I turned away from it, trying to catch even a few more minutes. Shortly after doing this, I was dragged out of the bed and landed on the floor. My instincts kicked in and I quickly grabbed my sword, trying to find the perpetrator in my half-asleep state. My eyes were met with the girl I had met the day before—Zelda. Her being there confirmed that I wasn't drunk on Chateau Romani and that everything that had happened was actually real. She was staring at me with wide eyes and a nervous smile.

"Geez, Linkle, you really do like your sleep. Um, could you maybe put the sword down?"

"Er, sorry," I apologized as I quickly sheathed my sword. "Force of habit, I guess. I would not recommend asking me about it, though. It is…a bit messy."

Zelda shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. Anyways, my father finished your schedule and asked me to give it to you. I'll be sure to help you find your classes, and I'm sure my other friends will be more than willing to help as well."

Zelda handed me a piece of paper, which I took and looked over right away. The classes seemed simple enough, though there was one word that I couldn't quite make out.

"Um, Zelda, what are…la…liftflys?" I knew I horribly butchered the word, so I just pointed at it instead.

Zelda burst into laughter once she saw the word I was trying to say. "Oh, loftwings? They're birds that every person on Skyloft has." She stopped laughing and looked at me inquisitively. "Do…do you not have loftwings in your time?"

I shook my head. "No. Never even heard of them. Guess so much time had passed that they fell out of history books."

"Well, that's a shame. Loftwings are amazing. Maybe the Goddess will give you one while you're here—oh, wait!" Zelda stopped me as I was starting to put on my equipment. "Father says you can't bring your sword and shield to normal classes, but you'll be able to bring them to your knight training."

"Ugh, that is not until way later," I complained as I put my weapons down. The only solace I had was that they had no idea I had even more weapons in my adventure pouches. There was no way I was going anywhere without some way of defending myself, after all.

"You know, we should get to know each other better, seeing as you'll probably be staying here for a while," Zelda mentioned as we walked to the mess hall. "Let's see…ah! How old are you? I'm 16, and you look like you're about my age, but I just want to know for sure."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, first question, and you are already hitting the complicated stuff."

Zelda looked confused. "How can age be—wait, does it have to do with—"

I quickly shushed her. "Time travel? Yes, it does, though I would appreciate it if you kept that info quiet. Anyways, while I am around 16 physically, mentally, I am probably somewhere closer to 19 or 20. There is more to it, but, well, complicated."

"Ok. It's a secret to everyone, then," Zelda said with a wink.

After a little more chatter, Zelda and I made it to the mess hall. There were already a ton of students, all of whom were eating breakfast or catching up with friends. We quickly got our meals, then I followed Zelda to a group of students. Two of them I recognized from the day before, though I had a somewhat difficult time remembering their names. The boy next to them seemed a bit on the scrawny side, but I could tell he had a good heart. As I looked at the last member of the group, I nearly tripped. The blond boy looked like he'd much rather be sleeping, and was very close to fall asleep face-first in his oatmeal. There was no mistaking it. This was this era's Hero.

"Hey, everyone!" Zelda said as she sat next to the Hero. I sat down next to her, trying my best to hide my shock at meeting a previous incarnation of the Hero.

The Hero gave Zelda a sleepy smile. "Morning, Zel. Who's that next to you?"

"Oh, right. Everyone, this is Linkle. She's a new student here. Linkle, you already know Karane and Pipit, and these two are Fledge and Link!"

"Wait, if her name is Linkle, and Link's name is Link, won't it be a bit confusing whenever they're in the same place?" Fledge asked. He suddenly started waving his hands and added, "I—I don't mean to sound rude! It's just that your names are so similar, and, well…"

I shook my head. "No, do not worry. You do have a point. We should probably come up with a new name for one of us."

The rest of breakfast was spent introducing me to everyone as well as figuring out if I should get a nickname or if Link should. No one could come up with anything that really seemed to stick, and we were all about to leave when Zelda stopped us.

"Wait, how about we call Linkle…Rinku? I think it sounds pretty nice."

Karane nodded in agreement. "It sounds like a nice name. What do you think, Linkle? Think you could live with that?"

I mulled it over for a bit, then shrugged. "Well, it is definitely better than some—er, yes, that'll be fine."

"All right, Rinku it is!" Pipit gave me a firm slap on my shoulder. "Welcome to the group, Rinku!"

* * *

As luck would have it, none of my new friends were in my first two classes. I was desperately wishing I had Zelda with me during the Hylian class. While everything was basic enough, I still struggled to understand a few phrases here and there. Some of the other students tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I tended to ignore them. I was never a huge fan of talking to strangers, which probably came from growing up with the same handful of Kokiri. You'd think that journeying across two worlds would force me to open up, but frankly, it barely managed to put a dent in my antics.

Link was in my third class, and he was barely there for ten seconds before a red-haired kid called Groose walked in and started harassing him. The jerk continued his wadded paper assault on the two of us throughout class, and while Link was clearly used to it, I was at my wit's end by the time Professor Owlan noticed and gave Groose detention on the spot.

"By Farore, I cannot believe Professor Owlan did not notice that sooner," I sighed as we left the classroom and were out of Groose's earshot. "I was ready to teach that idiot a lesson in respect!"

Link gave me a strange look before shaking his head. "It happens in every class I have with him. I'm used to it at this point."

I looked at Link in disbelief. "What? Why do you put up with that crap? Just show him who is boss already!"

"Well, I'd get in trouble for starting a fight, so no. Plus, he's stronger than me. I wouldn't stand a chance."

"No," I replied almost immediately, "do not say that. Size and muscle have nothing to do with true strength. True strength comes from within. It is not all about having power, but tempering it with courage and balancing it with wisdom."

I was met with a rather bewildered expression from Link. "Wow, you talk about fighting like you were, I dunno, a war hero or something in a past life. Anyways, even if I did beat him, it wouldn't change how he treats me. You see, Groose has had a crush on Zelda since we were all kids, and since I'm close friends with her and she barely even gives him the time of day, he hates me."

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling stupid for trying to give him an unwanted pep talk. "Yes, there is not much you can do about that one. I had almost the exact same situation when I was a kid, and he never forgave me for a long time."

We had just turned the corner when I was snatched away from Link's side. Sure enough, it was Zelda who had grabbed my arm.

"Zelda, hold on," I said as I stumbled along behind her. "Where are we going?"

"The Goddess Statue! I remembered you said you didn't have a loftwing, so I figured now's as good a time as any to get you one!"

Zelda continued to pull me along, though I had managed to regain my footing and easily kept pace with her. She took me to a huge statue located outside of the Academy. I could all but touch the sacred power emanating from the area. Actually, I could touch it. The mark of the Triforce began glowing through my glove. Once Zelda let go of me, I casually put the back of my hand against my side, hoping she didn't already see it.

"This is the Goddess Statue," Zelda explained. "You probably saw it when we were walking back from the waterfall yesterday. Every resident of Skyloft meets their loftwing right here, under the eyes of the Goddess Hylia. I know it could be a bit of a stretch, but if you're stuck here, I'm sure the Goddess will give you a loftwing, too.

"Well, that would be great," I said, "but how do I meet a loftwing?"

"You just have to let loose a loud whistle. Like this." Zelda demonstrated for me, and a huge blue loftwing landed right next to her. "Now, you try it, and we'll see what happens."

I never tried the whistle in that way before, but once I was sure the Triforce was gone from my hand, I gave it a shot. Several shots, at that, all of which failed to produce a sound.

Zelda's shoulders sagged. "Hmm, I guess you'll need to work on that before you'll be able to meet a loftwing. Let's head back."

It was my turn to grab Zelda's arm. "Wait. I have an idea." Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out my ocarina and started to play the Song of Soaring. It was even more of a stretch than Zelda thinking I could get a loftwing, but it was worth a shot. Hardly a few moments had passed after the last note when a shrill screech filled the air. A loftwing with feathers that reminded me of Epona's fur swooped down from the sky and stared me down.

Zelda's voice was a hushed whisper. "Oh, wow. It worked. It actually worked. Congrats, Rinku!" She tackled me into a hug. We rolled down a hill before either of us were able to get back up. "Now, onto the next step!"

"Which is?"

"Flying, of course!" Zelda spun me around so that I was facing the edge of the island. Before I could even get a word out, I was shoved off the island. "Play that song again! Your loftwing will come catch you!"

I had nearly dropped the ocarina in shock, but thankfully, it was still in my hands. I had never played the Song of Soaring faster in my life, but sure enough, the loftwing from moments ago swooped down. Putting the ocarina away so I wouldn't actually drop it, I grabbed onto the loftwing's back, and it soared back up.

The feeling of flying through the sky was absolutely exhilarating. I can barely put it into words. I always thought that my horse, Epona, was fast, but this bird was somehow even faster. We flew across Skyloft, the people looking like small ants bustling about. Never did I think that I'd be able to travel like this.

"You're a natural! Are you sure you've never had a loftwing before?"

I turned around and saw Zelda tailing me on her own loftwing. She looked incredibly pleased with how fast I managed to pick up flying. We soared around the skies for a little longer, Zelda telling me all about loftwings for most of the flight, then flew back to the Academy for our next classes.

* * *

As soon as my second to last class was out, I burst out the doors to get my weapons. It felt like I hadn't had a proper training session in years, and now I had a class dedicated to just training. Still fumbling with the clasps, I ran out of my room, nearly forgetting to lock it.

Link was standing next to my door. We had figured out earlier that we were in the same training session, so he had decided to walk me to it in case I got lost. It was kind of him, though I figured that even if I did get lost, it wouldn't have taken very long for me to at least find a way out.

It turned out that the sparring hall was in a building separate from the rest of the Academy. Logs with cheap carvings of monsters lined the walls, likely waiting to be slain by a brave knight-to-be. There were about a dozen people in the room, some of whom I already knew. Pipit and Karane were already there, sitting off to the side, and I saw Groose pointing at Link with another, scrawnier bully.

We didn't have to wait long before the doors to the sparring hall flew open. A burly man with a huge smile on his face marched in, sword in hand.

The man greeted us with a loud, cheerful voice. "Greetings, students! For those of you who don't know me, I am Eagus, the knight commander, and for those of you who do know me, welcome back! We'll be spending most of today's lesson outside, so while I go set up, I want each of you to do 30 push-ups!"

"Is he…always that peppy?" I asked Link as everyone kneeled to start the warm-up. Link nodded before starting on his set of 30.

I was done with 30 long before most of the other students. All of the training I had done on my journeys as well as the work I did on Romani Ranch was definitely paying off. Not wanting to seem like I was slacking, I asked Eagus if he needed any help setting up, but he simply laughed and waved me off.

"You're that new student Gaepora told me about, right?" Eagus stated this more than he asked it. "Well, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I want to see what you're capable of without setting up logs beforehand. Besides, these logs are pretty heavy. Not sure if you'd be able to manage one by yourself."

I sat back down next to Link and was starting to nod off when I noticed a red blur approaching from Link's blind side. Groose. I bided my time, and when he was almost ready to pounce on Link, I pounced first, causing us to crash in a pile of dust on the floor.

Groose got up in disgust. "W—hey! You were supposed to be asleep!"

"Sorry, my dumbass senses went off, so I woke up," I sneered. "Better luck next time. Who knows, maybe if you get your act together, you will stop setting it off."

Groose glared at me as some of the other students giggled. "Why you little…"

"Ok, that's enough, you two." Pipit stepped in, pushing me and Groose apart. He pulled me off to the side and began scolding me. "Rinku, don't go starting fights on your first day. That's literally the worst first impression possible!"

"Groose started it by sneaking up on Link," I countered. "And, I can think of worse first impressions. Tackling an asshole is not that bad."

Pipit sighed. "Watch your language. I'm just trying to help you. I don't care who started it, just don't do that again. You're lucky Eagus wasn't here to see that."

I walked away from Pipit with a huff. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't want to get too deeply involved in the prospects of time travel and reincarnations, I would have told him that seeing a previous incarnation of myself getting picked on by some loser didn't sit very well with me. But, things like that were better left unsaid.

"Thanks for the save there," Link said as I sat back down, "and, sorry that you had to go through one of Pipit's lectures. He means well, but sometimes, he takes being a knight way too seriously."

Eagus eventually came back to tell us to grab swords from the back room. Once everyone had a sword, he ushered us outside, where logs were set up in varying numbers.

"Ok, greenhorns," Eagus began. "Today's lesson will be fairly simple. We will be going over the basics of swordplay!"

Each of us were paired up with a small set of logs. Following Eagus's instructions, we cut each log based on how it was notched. While some students struggled with this, I found myself bored out of my mind. Then again, logs were quite literally nothing compared to real monsters. Logs didn't fight back. Monsters, on the other hand, would gut you for free.

By the time we went back into the hall, most of the students seemed at least slightly winded. I was slightly winded as well, but only because of how long we were practicing. If I had been going all-out, no one would have stood a chance.

"Ok, to end the day, I'll be dropping logs from the ceiling, and whoever is in the center of the room there has to cut all of the logs with a single swing, then land a fatal blow on one of the logs. I know we haven't done much with either of these techniques, but if you can do it successfully, you'll be excused from tomorrow's warm-up." Nearly every student was clamoring to do it, so Eagus added one last bit of information. "By the way, these logs haven't been pre-cut, so they're not going to give out nearly as easily as the ones from earlier. It's more than possible to slice them up with the practice swords, though. So long as you use the right technique while attacking, you'll slice through the logs like you slice through air!"

Even with these words of encouragement, no one was willing to step up to the challenge. Apparently, they were all used to logs that would give out with even the worst swing. A few seconds passed before I decided to do it myself, despite knowing that I'd be able to do it no problem.

"There we go! We've got ourselves a challenger!" Eagus laughed heartily. "Rinku, right? You ready to show us what you can do?"

I unsheathed my sword and twirled it around. "Bring it on."

With a pull of a rope, I was surrounded by logs. Bringing my sword to my side, I whirled around, cutting the logs with a single clean cut. I stopped my movement and quickly jumped into the air with a cry, impaling a log on the edge of my blade upon landing.

Eagus clapped his hands. "Very well done, Rinku! You made that task look like nothing." As I yanked my sword out of the log, he addressed the rest of the class. "Next class, we'll be practicing more with spin attacks and fatal blows. Don't think I didn't see how some of you would lose control when I introduced it to you. So long as you practice, I'm sure you'll eventually be able to cut through the logs just like Rinku did just now. All right, class dismissed!"

* * *

After everyone had washed up and changed into less sweaty clothing, we decided to fly over to the Lumpy Pumpkin. Or, rather, Zelda had the idea and wouldn't back down until we all agreed to go with her.

The café was located on an island south of Skyloft, and literally everything about was pumpkin-themed. The building was shaped like a pumpkin, the rocks were shaped like pumpkins. Even the hair of someone working in the fields was shaped like a pumpkin, so it was no surprise that the interior was, of course, themed to be full of pumpkins. My only concern about the place was the huge chandelier hanging above the center table. It was pretty, but the cord holding it up looked like it would snap with the lightest touch.

"Rinku, you've got to tell me where you got that sword!" After she saw how smoothly I cut the logs during class, Karane had been keen on getting gear just like mine.

I shrugged. "Well, I have actually had this sword since I was a kid, though it was not nearly as sharp then. The blacksmith that reforged it called it the 'Gilded Sword', but even he is not fully certain how he made it, so I do not think he will be able to make another like it."

Karane groaned in exasperation. "Then, how about the shield? It looks so fancy, and there's no way it breaks like every other shield on the market!"

"You are right in that it does not break, though that does not stop birds from stealing it. Unfortunately," I added, "it was a gift from…a friend, and I do not think I can get another."

We all laughed as Karane slumped in defeat and went back to her soup. Sharing jokes with friends, bonding over swordplay and soup… I never realized how nice it felt to act like a normal person. Even when I lived in Kokiri Forest, before anything began, the only person who was genuinely nice to me was Saria. Being here made me feel like I was getting life I was denied since birth.

"Wait, hold on." Fledge started looking around. "Where'd Link go?"

"Huh. That's odd," Zelda remarked. "It's not like Link to just leave without a word. Something must have happened. I'll search this floor. Rinku, can you search upstairs?"

"Yes." I got up and made my over to the staircase. As I climbed it, I began to hear what sounded like a scuffle of sorts. I pulled the Stone Mask out of my pouch and continued the ascent, ready to fight if it came to it. Once I reached the top, I saw that Groose and his cronies were holding Link in the air, ready to chuck him off the edge of the balcony. I ran to body slam Groose again, but I was a split second too late. Right before I crashed into my target, Link was thrown off of the balcony.

Right into the expensive chandelier.

Link and the chandelier fell onto the table below with a spectacular crash. The building went silent for a moment as shock took hold.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BOY?"

Pumm's voice finally got me moving again. I turned to punch Groose in the face, but he had already recovered from my initial assault and snuck out a window with his buddies in tow. Pissed off yet again, I stormed down the stairs and took off my mask, ready to try and save Link from the angry pumpkin man.

* * *

"Sorry, man," Pipit said to Link with a frown as we headed for the exit.

"It's fine," Link sighed. "I just wish I could've proved that it was Groose who threw me into it."

Despite everyone's best efforts, we couldn't convince Pumm that Link didn't knock down the chandelier on purpose. To pay off the damages to pretty much everything, Link had to work at the café. With how much everything costed, we were practically making bets as to how long it would take for the poor boy to pay off his debt.

I patted Link's shoulder. "I will get him back for this, do not worry. I was planning on helping you train if we ever do any sparring in class, but I think it would be fine if I were to take a session to kick his ass for you." That managed to get a smile out of Link.

"Language," Pipit said, "and using class time to pick on someone isn't how a good knight acts!"

"Tell that to brick-head," I chirped. "Besides, it is not 'picking on' someone, it is getting even with someone. A big difference right there."

"Maybe according to your ethics, there is…"

Zelda shook her head at our bantering and turned back to Link. "Link, let me know once you get back to the Academy, ok? I know it'll be awhile before it gets too dark to fly, but with Groose going around doing this type of stuff, well, I can't help but worry."

Link laughed. "I'll be fine, Zel, but thanks for the concern. You guys go ahead and head back."

"All right…" Zelda looked at the rest of us and nodded towards the door. "Come on, let's go home."

I still wanted to give the owner a piece of my mind without being restrained, but, knowing better than to do that, I held my tongue and followed everyone out. One group member short, we called our birds and flew back to Skyloft.

* * *

 **Fun fact: I was originally going to have Rinku call Groose pompadour-head, but then I realized that pompadour probably wouldn't be a word she'd know of a language she never had to speak until now. Darn shame, really.**

 **All right, I've had my fun post these past few chapters one after another, but now I'll try to only do it once a week, especially since my classes start up again on Tuesday.** **Have a super fab day, everyone!**


	4. The Gears of Fate

**Hey again, everyone! I know school's started for pretty much everyone by now, so hope you've had a good first day/week back, or if you're not in school anymore, a good week in general. I've got a newly updated chapter for your reading pleasure (or displeasure, but this is still much better than the original version, so not as much displeasure at it once was). I was going to post this sometime this weekend, but then I remember my dorm's going on a retreat, so I'm posting it now so that I don't get distracted by it.**

 **Enough of my ramblings, off to the story!**

 **(Updated 1.*17.18 lmfao I didn't travel a week into the future just to post this)**

* * *

 _Chapter 3: The Gears of Fate_

A year had passed since I found myself in the Sky Era, and it was quite possibly the best year of my life. I learned more about the culture of Skyloft, and I grew closer to the five students I had originally met. While I couldn't possibly deny the perks of people seeing me as a Hero, I loved being able to blend into the crowd and live an ordinary life. It was the epitome of peace, as far as I was concerned.

I knew, however, that the peace wouldn't hold out for much longer. In preparation for the worst, I had started training Link harder than before, claiming it was so that he'd be able to outshine and fight off Groose if necessary. Unfortunately, the boy still had no clue as to what destiny he had waiting for him, and he was constantly complaining about how hard I pushed him during our training sessions. While I couldn't blame him for wanting to nap instead of train, seeing as I would have rather done the same, I felt that we had no choice. I wanted to tell him why I pushed him so hard, why being able disarm me after a few minutes wasn't fast enough. I really did. But telling him that the fate of the world would soon rest upon his shoulders… He would've run away. I know I would've.

The day I was waiting for was the day of the Wing Ceremony, the long-awaited competition between a few lucky candidates to see who would rise up to the next class without having to go through the usual testing. Each candidate was selected based on overall grades as well as performance throughout the year. This particular year, the chosen students were me, Link, Cawlin, Strich, and, through some divine prank, Groose. Despite the obvious two-on-three that was going to happen, I knew I had to help Link win the ceremony. The clothing he normally had wouldn't last long against real monsters, and he needed to have a sword on him at all times. A good one, at that.

I woke up that day rather disheveled. I had a terrible nightmare, with a horrific beast appearing from a void in the earth and devouring everything in sight. Words couldn't possibly describe the thrill of terror that went through me as the scene unfolded in my dream. Still trying to make sense of the dream, I walked into the mess hall and sat down with my usual group, though there was a glaringly obvious gap where Link and Zelda normally sat.

"Heya, Rinku," Karane greeted me. "Today's the big day, huh?"

I waved. "Morning, Karane. Yep, it definitely is. Still don't know how I got selected, but I guess I can't really complain. Where's Link and Zelda, though? They're normally here by now, or, at least Zelda usually is."

Fledge meekly spoke up. "I think Zelda mentioned something about going out to the Goddess Statue to practice for the ceremony…" It made sense. Zelda was selected to play the role of the Goddess during the ceremony. With an even this big, I know I'd want to make sure I had everything down pat.

"And Link's probably still snoozing!" Pipit laughed. "I'm a bit surprised you aren't as well, Rinku. You seem to sleep just as much as he does!"

"Ha, ha, very funny," I said dryly as I continued to eat. "Well, seeing as he wakes up for one princess and only one princess, I'll see if she can spare a moment from practicing to wake our sleeping beauty up."

"That would probably be for the best," Karane said after a bout of giggling. "After all, if Link goes off and sleeps through the Wing Ceremony, it would be all up to you to keep one of those pinheads from getting too close to joining me and Pipit as knights!"

* * *

Skyloft was buzzing with life as people waited in anticipation for the Wing Ceremony. It was like the bazaar had leaked out and covered the entirety of the plaza, or like the Carnival of Time managed to find its way into Hyrule. The people of Skyloft celebrated this event once every four years, and they were certainly going all-out for it this time. There were still several hours before the Wing Ceremony would start, and I was already having a hard time getting anywhere without bumping into someone.

I finally made my way to the stairs leading up to the Goddess Statue. The party vibes didn't seem to reach this far, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was a good thing I did, too, because shortly thereafter I was knocked over by someone running down the stairs. I nearly had the wind knocked out of me as we fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Hey! Watch where you're—" I cut myself off in shock. "Link? I thought you were still sleeping. What happened that caused you to plow me down?"

Link looked rather flustered and out of breath. "Sorry! You see, Zelda's loftwing woke me up since I was supposed to meet her at the Goddess Statue this morning, which I'm glad it woke me up, because I was having this really weird nightmare with what looked like an avocado with teeth yelling at the sky. Anyways, it turned out Zelda wanted me to see the dress she made for her role, and it was really pretty, but—"

I put a finger to Link's lips. "Link. The point?"

Link took a deep breath. "My loftwing's gone missing and I need to find him."

"Shoot, why didn't you say that first? I'll help look, too."

As much as I wanted to hear about the avocado from Link's dream, I knew finding his loftwing was top priority at the moment. We made a quick stop at the Academy to get the rest of our friends in on the search, then spread out across the rest of the sky, looking for any sign of our red-feathered friend.

After a fruitless search, I landed by the sparring hall to regather my thoughts. I had no idea where that bird could have gone. Link happened to run by and gave me a hopeful look. When I shook my head, I could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Link, Rinku! Great timing! Over here!"

We both turned to see Pipit and Fledge standing right outside of the sparring hall. Glancing at each other, we ran over to see what the commotion was about.

"You guys still haven't found Link's loftwing, right?" Pipit began once we were closer. "Well, I think I know where to find him. Or rather, Fledge here knows." Pipit motioned for Fledge to speak.

"Sorry, Link," Fledge began, looking guilty. "I know I should have told you, but Groose and his buddies threatened to beat me up if I did. I saw them taking your loftwing down to the cave by the waterfall. Right when I was going to run and tell you, they saw me. I'm sorry I'm such a coward…"

Link rested his hand on Fledge's shoulder. "It's all right, Fledge. Knowing those idiots, they probably would've followed up on that threat. I'm just glad you still told me in the end."

"Ok, back on track, folks, we don't have a whole lot of time." I clapped my hands sharply, drawing the boys' attention to me. "From what I remember, there's a new barrier in front of the cave to help keep people out due to the increase in monster sightings. You'll probably need a sword to get though."

"Why would _I_ need a sword when you already have one?" Link objected.

"Because it's about time we see if your training's paid off," I countered. "Besides, there's no way I'm letting go of my favorite sword."

"Fine..." Link grumbled. "I'll go see if Eagus will let me borrow a sword from the training yard because Rinku's a jerk..." He trudged towards the building in what I hoped was overexaggerated defeat.

"Come on, Link, pick those feet up, or you're gonna miss the Wing Ceremony!" I shouted after Link, to which he very freely gave me the bird.

Once Link was out of earshot, Pipit turned to me. "Rinku, I know you seem to have a good work ethic when you need to, but don't you think you have absurdly high expectations of Link? You two have a lot in common, but work ethic isn't one of them. Link's not really the type to train hard."

"Nah, I think my expectations are reasonable," I answered. "If anything, they're lower than they should be."

"But you've been pushing him harder than what even knights do! It's like you're training him to save the world or something ridiculous like that!"

I didn't respond. Pipit had no idea, but he scored a bulls-eye. Maybe he couldn't feel the unrest in the air, but I was more than aware of it. Something was about to happen. Something big. Something that would change the fates of everyone on this island and beyond. Link had to be ready for it, whatever 'it' was.

There was a small crack in the wall that showed a small portion of the cloud barrier that separated Skyloft from the rest of the world. My eyes were drawn to it, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Link.

"You never know."

* * *

Once Link got his hands on a sword, the two of us made our way over to the waterfall. On our way over, I couldn't help but notice Groose and his cronies standing off to the side and talking amongst themselves. Motioning for Link to follow, I snuck over to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"…was super hard, but we managed to do it." Cawlin's voice was the first one I could make out.

"Of course it was hard," Groose bragged, "No one said it would be easy to contain a loftwing, let alone a crimson loftwing. But all of the fuss was worth it. Now that the shrimp can't participate in the Wing Ceremony, all we have to do is stop his buddy from-hey, why are you two backing up?"

Stritch pointed at me and Link, though it was mostly at me. I made it known quite some time ago that while Link tended to sit back and take whatever they threw at him, I wasn't willing to put up with their bullshit.

Groose turned around and jumped back as soon as he saw us. "Gah! Uh, just how long were you two standing there?"

Link furrowed his brows. "Long enough."

Regaining his composure, Groose starting pacing circles around us. "Oh, I see how it is. You two decided to come beg the Grooster to let one of you win, huh? I can see it in your dopey eyes, especially yours, shrimp. They're saying 'Oh, Groose, can you please find it in your heart to let one of us win? Please!'" Groose smirked. "Well, sorry buds, but Groose doesn't do charity for wimps! Whoever wins this ceremony gets alone time with Zelda at the top of the Goddess Statue, and there's no way I'm passing up the opportunity."

Right before I could snap at him, Groose dramatically flipped his hair and looked to the sky. "Hey, come to think of it, I haven't seen your bird for awhile, Link. Where is that scruffy pile of red feathers? I can't imagine what could have happened to him. Do you think his tiny brain got confused by all the clouds and got lost?"

Even Link was coming up on the end of his patience. Since I was the one with a better-known history of instigating fights with Groose, I stepped in to do something stupid before Link could. "There wasn't a need to run your mouth. We just wanted to say that your hair looks quite fine today." Once I had Groose proudly preening his pompadour, I continued. "Yes, it looks pretty clean today. Did you actually style your hair in a clean toilet for once?"

I knew his hair was his weak spot, and sure enough, it set him off. "Will you wake up and grow a backbone already? Dopes like you are dragging our honored academy through the mud."

"And just _who_ might you be referring to, Groose?"

Zelda marched up to us. If looks could kill, Groose would've been very much dead and buried.

Flustered at her sudden appearance, Groose began to back off. "Oh...Zelda. Hey. Nah, it's...uh..."

Pushing us out of the way, Zelda confronted Groose face-to-face. After a rather one-sided argument, with the side being Zelda's, Groose and his buddies ran off.

Zelda sighed. "Sorry you guys had to deal with that. Anyways, Pipit and Fledge got me up to speed with the situation. My loftwing's feeling much better now, so I'm going to join you two on your little quest. Let's go!" She ran off towards the waterfall before Link or I could get a word in, and we rushed to catch up to her.

* * *

Once we reached the cave, I had Link take the lead while I took up the rear. It was practically a straight shot through the cave, the perfect opportunity for Link to ease into dungeon exploration. Before we knew it, we were outside again.

It was eerily quiet, and the unrest in the air seemed to grow in intensity. It distracted me so much that I hadn't noticed that Zelda stopped and nearly walked into her. She was staring off the edge of the path, seemingly in a trance.

"Who...who's there...?" she whispered. "Who's...calling for me...?"

"Zelda? Zelda, are you ok?" I grew incredibly concerned. I'd seen her staring at the cloud barrier more and more lately, and she also talked more about a place called the Surface. We were definitely running out of time, and not just time before the Wing Ceremony.

Before I could get an answer out of her, an ear-piercing shriek came from farther down the path. We hurried down and saw that a red loftwing, Link's loftwing, was barricaded into a small alcove. Link and I drew our swords and made quick work of the ropes holding the boards in place. As soon as the final board fell, Link's loftwing ran out of the cave and stretched out with another loud shriek. He nuzzled Link and nodded at me before taking off into the sky once more.

"We should hurry. Now that Link's loftwing is free, we should fly to the ceremony..." Zelda's thought trailed off. She looked at the cloud barrier again, then looked at us. "But before we go, I have to ask you guys something. I...I heard this voice a few moments ago. Did you hear it too?"

"No," Link answered. "I didn't hear anything other than my loftwing."

I shook my head. "Nothing but a really upset bird."

Zelda looked back at the clouds. "Hm. I've been hearing a voice a lot lately. It's the strangest feeling… Almost like someone is calling out to me." She paused a moment to think. "Have you ever wondered what's beneath the clouds? Some say that it's an empty, barren place, but I just have this feeling that they're wrong. Some of Father's old texts talk about a place called the surface. The old tales describe a whole world under there, far more vast than Skyloft! The thing is, no one's ever been down there to see it, and our loftwings won't fly through the cloud barrier...but I can't help imagining the wild things that might be waiting below. Someday, I want to see it for myself."

My anxiety spiked to levels it hadn't been to in years. This was it. Fate's gears were starting to turn, and soon, we'd all be in a race against darkness. I knew it was bound to happen, but I had desperately hoped that it could wait just a little longer.

Shaking her head, Zelda looked at us again. "Oh, sorry. We don't have time to talk, do we? Let's get going!" She ran off the edge and called her loftwing as if nothing had happened. Link and I followed close behind, and the three of us flew back to the plaza.

* * *

 **Shit be getting real, folks. And yes, I decided to make Rinku a bit more headstrong/fighty or whatever than I originally wrote her to be. It just makes things more...fun, I suppose.**

 **As always, feel free to leave a comment, follow the story, ask questions, yada, yada, yada. But for real, if you notice a typo, like a comma magically disappeared or something, please tell me. I do miss those types of things on occasion, and I feel terrible for "updating" the chapter at least three times in a row. See you guys again next week!**


	5. The Wing Ceremony

**Lmao so much for posting this on the weekend. Got a bit busy, and it just slipped my mind. But, I did get around to changing the cover picture and summary, so there's that.**

 **Side notes:**

 **-I changed Epona's Song to the Song of Soaring because I forgot that the Song of Soaring was a thing until I played Majora's Mask again and Potential Reasons(tm) for later chapters. It honestly doesn't change anything right now, so you don't need to go back and look at it.**

 **-I changed what anniversary the Knight Academy is celebrating because no way in heck do I believe that the Knight Academy's been there for only 25 years. Still kept the Easter Egg Nintendo put in there because I like it.**

 **(Chapter updated 1.30.18)**

* * *

 _Chapter 4: The Wing Ceremony_

"Your attention, please! We are ready to begin the Wing Ceremony!" Owlan's voice was louder than I ever heard before, silencing the plaza within seconds. "Before we begin, I will explain the rules for today's competition." He gestured to the yellow loftwing. "I have attached a small statuette to this bird, who I will then release into the sky. On my signal, the competitors are to dash off the ledge, call their loftwings, and attempt to retrieve the statuette. Whoever claims it will be this year's champion and become one step closer to knighthood. That person will also receive a gift from the young lady chosen to play the role of the goddess in this year's ritual."

Clearing his throat, Owlan continued. "Today is a special day for many reasons, but it also happens to be the 100th anniversary of our fine institution, as well as the 25th Wing Ceremony, which occurs once every four years. To celebrate the occasion, the victor will receive their gift high atop the Statue of the Goddess. I hear the young woman performing the role of the goddess this year has crafted the gift herself. And as you all well know, the role of the goddess will be played this year by…"

"The lovely Zelda!" Zelda shouted from in front of the crowd.

"Let's see your finest flying out there. Show us just how hard you've been practicing. Also," Owlan narrowed his eyes. "I want to see good, clean flying. There are to be no weapons of any kind. Anyone caught interfering with other riders will answer to me."

"That goes double for you, Groose!" Gaepora added sternly.

Owlan released the yellow loftwing into the sky. "All right, competitors, line up. On my command, the competition will begin!"

The five of took our places near the edge of the dock. While I had no intention of winning the competition, I had still been training hard so that I'd be able to protect Link from whatever scheme the other three would come up with. Despite Owlan and Gaepora's warnings, I knew they had to have something up their sleeves. It was just a matter of what.

"On your marks!"

I got a better grip on my ocarina. Despite my best efforts, I wasn't to whistle consistently enough to stop relying on it.

"Get set!"

My heart was pounding. Why was it pounding? I wasn't the least bit concerned about this. So why—

"GO!"

My thoughts were cut off as we dashed off the island and called our birds. As soon as my loftwing got me, I made for a higher vantage point, trying to find any sign of the yellow loftwing. I was quickly able to locate it, the bright feathers standing out against the rocks and clouds.

"Link! Follow me!" I started to make a beeline towards my target, dodging various obstacles and monsters along the way. Link eventually caught up, and I flew up higher to keep an eye out for the other three competitors. I managed to locate Cawlin and Strich, but for some reason, I couldn't find any sign of Groose.

A loud squawk came from beneath me. I looked down and swore when I realized Groose managed to slip by me and knock Link away from the statuette. The yellow loftwing it was still attached to made itself scarce within seconds.

"Yo, Cawlin, Strich! Now!" At Groose's command, his buddies brought out baskets full of ammunition and began pelting me and Link. It was a gross and rather dangerous combination of rocks, eggs, and unidentifiable objects.

I glared at them. "Are you kidding me?" I pulled out my shield and provided cover for Link. "Link, I'll hold them off best I can! Get that statue!"

I wasn't able to hear if Link responded, but at the very least heard me. His bird shot off in the direction of the yellow loftwing, my loftwing following close behind.

It quickly became obvious that my current strategy wasn't working. Cawlin and Strich had separated and continued their assault from two angles. One shield wasn't going to cut it. Rolling my eyes, I pulled out my Mirror Shield and tried to blind them. I knew I'd get flagged for cheating along with the other three, but I didn't care at that point; so long as Link got the statuette, I'd take whatever anyone could dish out.

After several minutes, Groose's cronies fell behind, both of them rubbing their eyes. With two opponents down, I brought my attention to the last one. My grip on my shields tightened when I realized that Groose nearly had the bird. Putting my shields away, I dove back into the fray. Just as Groose's fingers brushed the statuette, my bird flew right next to him, causing all bird involved to fly off in different directions.

"Hey, that's cheating!" I could practically see steam coming out of Groose's ears.

"Yeah, and having Cawlin and Strich throw shit at us isn't, right, sorry, I forgot," I leered.

"Well, I didn't do anything wrong!"

"And neither did Link, so suck it up!"

The words had barely left my mouth when I heard a triumphant yell from Link. Sure enough, the boy was holding the statuette in victory and was flying back to Skyloft. I grinned, glad to see that he was able to win this competition. Ignoring a death glare from Groose, I steered my loftwing back to the plaza.

When the four of us who did not win landed, we were greeted by a rather outraged Owlan and Gaepora. It was almost disconcerting enough for me to be cowering with the other three competitors.

Owlan was the first to lecture us. "I thought I said no weapons and to _not_ interfere with other riders! What about that was hard to understand?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, they're the ones who started throwing things first. I knew they were bound to do something, so I brought my gear. So what?"

Owlan glared at me. "'So what?' If the other competitors break the rules, that does not give you right to do so as well!"

"You people need to learn that it's ok to fight back, even if it's not 'in the rules'! If you just sit around and take whatever shit people decide throw at you, you'll never get anywhere in life! If I never fought back at all in my life, I'd still be stuck in a forest! If I never fought back, I would've been forced to live under a tyranny! If I never fought back, Princess Zel—"

"Enough of this nonsense!" Gaepora stepped in, cutting me off. "This is not the place for this type of discussion. We'll continue this in my office and discuss the matter of your punishment, all of you." Gaepora looked at me, disappointment in his eyes. "I thought you knew better than this, Linkle."

I winced. I hadn't heard my actual name since the last time I got in trouble. Somehow, Gaepora calmly voicing his disapproval was far worse than the shouting match I had with Owlan.

Everyone turned to walk to the Academy, but I had hardly gone a few steps when the feeling of dread stabbed through me. I couldn't even place why. Sure, whatever detention we were going to get would definitely suck, but it shouldn't make me feel like the world was about to end.

Thoughts began racing through my head as I stood in place. _What in the—why do I feel like this? I feel like something terrible's about to happen! I've never felt this much dread in my life…no. That one time, when I got the last of the three Spiritual Stones…that was when—by the gods._

"Linkle, let's go." Gaepora noticed I had stopped walking.

"I…I can't." I turned to face the dock, body shaking.

"And why is that?"

"Because…" My heart started racing. I had to go now. "Something terrible's about to happen!"

Before anyone could stop me, I sprinted off the dock again and summoned my loftwing. Following whatever force was guiding me, I flew to an area behind the Statue of the Goddess. Link and Zelda were flying together, most likely done with the ceremony. The gears of fate had begun to turn however, and that moment of peace was to be the last for a long time.

As I flew towards them, a black tornado suddenly appeared near us. Our loftwings shrieked and tried to pull away from the vortex of death with varying degrees of success. Link's slowly pulled away and mine stayed in place, but Zelda's was slowly being drawn in, its energy waning rapidly.

My mind flashed back to the time when I saw the Zelda of my own time being forced to flee from Hyrule Castle, Ganondorf and his shadows on her heels. I couldn't do anything but stand and watch then, but now, I could do something. There was no way I was going to let Zelda be kidnapped again.

"PRINCESS!" I launched myself off of my bird, quickly approaching Zelda. Once I was almost within reach, I braced myself for transformation and put on my Goron Mask, taking on the likeness and strength of the legendary Goron, Darunia.

"I got you, don't worry!" Making sure to not cause harm to Zelda, I began spinning as fast as I dared. Once I built up enough momentum, I flung Zelda out of the tornado's grasp towards Link, who barely managed to catch her.

Reverting back to my normal self, I looked up and saw their bewildered expressions. They tried to say something, but their words were lost in the sounds of the tornado. I closed my eyes. There was no way I'd be able to get out of the tornado myself, but I was at least able to keep Zelda safe for a little while longer. Opening my eyes again, I waved my final farewell before being fully sucked into the swirling winds, ready to accept my fate once more and allow the tornado to take me below the cloud barrier to another world.

To the unknown land.

To the Surface.

To Hyrule.

* * *

 **Rinku still don't take shit from others. And also seems to have a sixth sense for danger.**

 **Tbh, I kinda imagine that at least a few people in Skyloft are rule sticklers/a bit too relaxed, especially since they've been living up in the sky away from danger for however many generations, which is why Rinku is oftentimes rubbed the wrong way by those people. She's spent most of her life fighting against other people, whether it was something as small as Mido picking on her or as big as Majora trying to kill everyone with the moon. Idk though, I don't make official Zelda stuff, just fan art/writing.**

 **As always, feel free to fav/follow this story, leave comments, etc. See y'all whenever I remember to update again!**


	6. Return to Hyrule

**Heyo! I know I said I'd have to slow down on updates last chapter, but I decided to make an exception this time because a) this chapter's a touch short, and b) I wanted to respond to a review that was rather important. It was a guest review, so unfortunately, I couldn't clarify anything without posting something here.**

 **Katriss: Thanks for the concern! Yeah, I do know that chapters that are just author's notes aren't allowed (probably to keep people from turning this site into a weird blog of sorts), which is why I don't keep them up for more than 24 hours. I'm 80% certain I mentioned it the first time I did one, but, well, I deleted it lmao. If there were some other way of letting people know you updated a chapter, I'd be all for it, but unfortunately, that's not the case right now. Besides, this is Chapter 5, and I only made it to something like 10 chapters (not including the prologue), so I won't need to do any author's note-esque chapters once I get to the ninth or tenth chapter. It's a bit of a brush with danger, I suppose, but I don't think anything bad will come of it. If something does end up happening, well, I'm a stubborn child and there's many more places on the internet than this site.**

 **(Chapter updated 2.1.18)**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Return to Hyrule_

As it turns out, loftwings wouldn't breach the cloud barrier for more reasons than just the Goddess not allowing them to. It was also really cold. Like, bone-chilling cold. And it was dark. It almost felt like the time I had to go through Snowpeak, but with less snow and more clouds. And more falling, too.

I was very close to being bored out of my mind when the cloud barrier suddenly came to an end. A sea of trees sprawled out endlessly beneath me. It might've been beautiful or even awe-inspiring if it weren't for the fact that I was still spinning in circles and was starting to get a bit nauseous.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the tornado vanished, leaving me to free-fall the rest of the distance. The ground didn't exactly seem like the softest place to land after falling for goddesses know how long, so I quickly scanned the area for a better landing site, spotting a small lake just off to my left. Maneuvering myself in the air proved rather difficult, but I managed to position myself above the water just in time to put on my Zora Mask and make the splashdown. The impact still hurt horribly and stunned me for a good few minutes, but, at the very least, I couldn't drown while I caught my breath.

I reverted back to my Hylian form once I was out of the water and started along a nearby path. Nostalgia quickly flooded through me. While these trees didn't look exactly like the ones in Kokiri Forest, they still reminded me of my childhood home. I hadn't been in a real forest since I left Hyrule, and I found that being in one made me miss the bygone days of racing through the Lost Woods, not knowing the dangers it posed to me specifically. I missed the plays we'd put on for the Great Deku Tree, crawling through mazes, chasing butterflies, finding the Kokiri Sword, trying to save the Great Deku Tree, being triumphant only to find out—

I shook my head as bad memories tried to sneak in. It wasn't a good time to reminiscence about the past, anyways. Not when I was likely the first Hylian to be back on the Surface in millennia. I didn't see any sign of civilization down here, so I was likely on my own in terms of survival, making this little escapade of mine a bit different than my previous adventures.

Another thought suddenly crossed my mind, far darker than the previous ones. There was absolutely no way that tornado was caused by natural means, and I had a hunch it was supposed to nab Zelda before I chucked her away from it. Whatever, or whoever, made that tornado had to have seen me as I was falling as well. From a distance, Zelda and I would likely look at least somewhat similar, so if it knew what Zelda looked like, there was a very high chance it thought I was her and was searching for me at that very moment.

I weighed my options. The first and by far most obvious one was to find a way to get back to the sky and warn everyone of what was happening. It seemed nice, but that would mean either everyone would write me off as crazy or Zelda would be grounded to Skyloft for her own protection, and neither of those results were very favorable. The other option was to pose as Zelda, distract the evil force, and hope that destiny called for the Hero sooner rather than later. It was incredibly risky, considering I was a terrible actor, and if the evil force was after power of some sort, I still had the Triforce of Courage from when Ganondorf's execution went horribly wrong. On top of that mess, I had no idea when Link would find his way down here, or where he would land first, making it the worst possible option.

So, of course, that's the one I went with.

I came across a sunny spot while I was strolling, so I decided to take a break and sit down. Pulling out my ocarina, I leaned against a tree and started playing various songs from my journeys. I started with the song the Kokiri loved to play, which melted into Saria's favorite song, which faded into various other melodies. Animals of all species would approach me in curiosity, only running away if I stopped playing for too long.

I'm not sure exactly how long I sat there, basking in the sunlight that shone through the trees, but it was nice to listen to the sounds of a forest again. I had started to nod off when a rustle came from a nearby bush. Putting away my ocarina in favor of my sword and shield, I began to creep towards the sound.

"Well, well, well. What _do_ we have here? You look like you're lost."

I spun around, looking for the source of the voice. Somehow, it managed to slip behind me, and yet there was no one there.

"It's so kind of you to finally come and join us here on the Surface after all these years, skychild."

I finally managed to spot a shadowy figure behind a tree. It stepped forward, revealing a tall Hylian. He (at least, I figured it was a he) chuckled and mockingly bowed, glaring at me the whole while.

"Or, rather, _Your Grace?_ "

* * *

 **And so we end on a cliffhanger with a new character entering the scene! If you've played Skyward Sword, I bet you already know who it is, though.**

 **Happy first of February! One month of 2018 down, 11 more to go!**


	7. Demon Lord

**Aaaand we're back! Not much to say here, though I suppose there are a couple things; If you have alerts set up for this story, you may have noticed that you got the alert for this chapter instead of an author's note. And even if you don't have alerts set up, you may have noticed that chapters beyond this one have ceased to exist. I noticed things while typing that caused this change, but I'll get to that at the end of this chapter.**

 **(Chapter posted 2.10.18)**

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Demon Lord_

I stared in bewilderment at the person in front of me. I was never one for fashion, but even I found his getup a bit odd. He wore a skintight bodysuit and gloves that had multiple diamond-shaped holes in it as well as a yellow sash attached to a huge red gem. On top of all that was an oversized red cape with yellow diamond shapes on the inside of it. A band of gold was on his right bicep, adding to his already gaudy appearance. His skin was ashen grey and his hair was blindingly white, covering half his face. In the one eye I could see, there was no friendliness to be found. Only darkness and bloodlust.

I blinked in confusion. "My what now?" It wasn't my most graceful sentence. Ironic, considering he had just called me "Your Grace."

The man shook his head. "Ah, I suppose you don't have all your memories back. No matter, little goddess, I would be _honored_ to fill in a portion of that missing information, if you so desire."

Goddess. Why did he call me "goddess"? Was Zelda an incarnation of one of the goddesses? I had always heard that Hyrule's royal family was of a divine bloodline, but I always thought that to be made-up nonsense to help keep them in power. If he was telling the truth, though, then Zelda was in even more danger than I first thought, and I really had to keep him on this wild goose chase for as long as possible.

"I…um, yes, that would be helpful," I said, trying to seem as goddess-like as possible. "Could you maybe start with your name? It would be nice to know who it is I'm talking to."

"I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I suppose I did assume that you would have remembered me from your previous life, after all. How terribly rude of me." The man laughed and moved some hair off of the right side of his face. "My name is Ghirahim. In truth, I prefer my full title: _Demon Lord_ Ghirahim. But, I'm not fussy. I've been awaiting your arrival ever since the day you shed your divinity ages ago to be reborn as…one of your own people, dearest Hylia. You cannot possibly _imagine_ how ecstatic I am to see you have returned! I'm a very busy boy, and I don't normally have that type of time or patience, but for you, I made an exception."

I started to reach for my ocarina. "Well, Graham—"

" _Ghirahim_."

"Ghirahim, whatever. It was, uh, nice to meet you? Again? But, it sounds like you're pretty busy, and I should really get back to the sky. Everyone's probably worried about me, and I'm sure I can figure something out about this whole 'rebirth' thing up at the Goddess—er, _my_ statue."

"Oh, nonsense, I can tell you right now, your little friends aren't…" Ghirahim trailed off as he looked at the sky, and I took that as my cue to prepare a warp song in hopes that it would work in this era. A few seconds later, Ghirahim growled and narrowed his eyes. "…What is this blasphemy? You're down here, and yet I'm still sensing Hylia's power up there! Child, what trickery are you pulling? Answer, now!"

Ghirahim turned to face me, but he was a split second too late. I sped through the first warp song that came to my head, and in a flash of green light, I was gone.

* * *

I reappeared in front of an ancient temple. Slumping against the old stone of the structure, I groaned as I recalled what happened. _Of course_ diamond boy could sense Zelda's hidden power—or was it Hylia's? Regardless, my plan got shot down moments after I put it into action, and Zelda was still in danger.

"Dammit!" I slammed my fist on the ground. I wasn't even able to figure out what exactly it was that Ghirahim needed Zelda for! Some Hero I was. What kind of Hero couldn't find information for herself? When I saved Hyrule in my era, it was the Great Deku Tree and Princess Zelda who filled me in on what was happening. In Termina, it was Tatl's brother, Tael, who clued me in on what I had to do to stop the moon. Not once had I actually figured out what the big baddie was after on my own.

I flicked my head. Now wasn't the time for self-pity. I had to keep moving. While I wasn't able to find out Ghirahim's plans, I could still try to stop him before he could set them in motion. I got up and dusted my tunic off, then set off into the woods.

I hadn't gone very far when I heard strange grunts to my right. Whirling around, I was met with three red monsters branding their swords as they ran right at me. I wasn't quite in the mood for a fight, but I figured these three buffoons would be perfect practice for a move I had been working on, one that I was never able to practice in a realistic setting up in Skyloft. I waited until they were closer, and just before they could attack me, I drew my sword, instantly slicing my attackers in two. A deadly trick, but one that worked well, so long as I kept my wits about me.

The monsters turned to dust, and I was on my way once more. I knew I had my mission, but I couldn't help but be enthralled by the woods, especially since I wasn't under the threat of Ghirahim. Aside from the occasional deku baba or mobile monster, the woods were incredibly peaceful. Bird tweeted merrily as they flitted from tree to tree, squirrels chattered off in the distance, and the cleanest breezes blew through my hair. Even the Kokiri Forest never had this soothing of an atmosphere. It was almost hard to believe a place like this would someday become the Hyrule I knew.

Arms suddenly wrapped themselves around me, and I immediately began to struggle. For a split second, I thought that I had come across a redead or a dead hand. The rational part of my brain quickly took over, and I realized that my assailant had a very obvious heartbeat and body heat. Whoever it was that grabbed me, they were most certainly not dead or undead.

"Well now, aren't you a rude little skychild, tricking me into missing the goddess and then running off like that!" Ghirahim's voice was uncomfortably close to my ear, and some of his hair started to get into my eyes as he lowered his head closer to mine. "For disrupting my mission, you will have to pay dearly."

"Mission? What mission?" I poked at the subject, trying to glean any information possible. "You never said anything about that. Why should I be punished for disrupting something I never even knew about?"

"Very well, allow me to enlighten you," Ghirahim said in a silky tone, traces of malice in his words. "I need that girl, that blasted incarnate of Hylia, to revive my master, whom she had disgracefully sealed away ages ago. Now that you know what my mission is, I do believe it's time to carry out your punishment." Ghirahim clicked his tongue as he roughly shoved me away from him. "And if you have any dignity about you, you won't be pulling your little stunt from earlier."

I staggered as I regained my footing and drew my sword. Whatever he had in mind, it wasn't something that I'd be able to skip and hum my way through.

"Ah, it's almost as if you're reading my mind!" Ghirahim chuckled and rolled his shoulders. His cape began to vanish, disintegrating into small diamond shapes. "Yes, while I was going to kill you out-right, you managed to save your neck by reminding me of my manners. Killing someone when they didn't know what they ruined is rather…harsh, I suppose. So instead, I'll grant you the opportunity to live—assuming your pathetic swordsmanship can even remotely keep up with my own."

"Pfft, cocky much?" I prepared to run at him. "That's the type of stuff that can get you killed, you know. You don't even have a sword on you."

Ghirahim smirked. "Oh, I know. I don't need one." Without so much as flinching, he caught my blade mid-swing. As I stood there stunned, he wrenched it from my grasp. "Interesting. I've never seen a blade quite like this one, especially not from your pathetic islands. Too bad it's already been tainted by your grubby hands, otherwise, I'd consider keeping it."

Ghirahim flung my sword back at me as if it were a dagger. The force behind it was so strong that I barely had time to get out of the way. I turned around and saw that my sword had been embedded nearly to the hilt on a nearby tree. There was no way this guy was an ordinary Hylian, if he even was a Hylian.

 _Shit._ I looked back at Ghirahim in disbelief. Despite his eccentric looks, this guy was no joke. He could snap me like a twig if he wanted to.

Ghirahim shrugged. "Sorry, dear, I don't know my own strength sometimes. It can be quite hard to control a body as stunning as my own. Regardless, seeing as you no longer have a weapon…I think you lose."

"Think again, bastard." I reached into my adventure pouch and pulled out the Great Fairy's Sword. Ghirahim raised his eyebrows, or lack thereof, at least mildly impressed. "Try catching _this_ with one hand, eh?"

Running right at this guy clearly didn't work, so I opted for a different method of attack. Concentrating my strength, I swung my sword around me, releasing a huge wave of energy. The burst destroyed the nearby trees and drove Ghirahim several feet back. The Gilded Sword fell free as the tree it was imbedded in cracked, and I quickly ran back to switch swords. As fun as it was to swing around a sword nearly the size of my own body, I preferred mobility over brute force.

"Not bad, skychild," Ghirahim said as he lowered his arms. "It appears I underestimated you. I must admit, I wasn't quite expecting that from someone as weak-looking as you. Let's see if you can keep it up." Ghirahim snapped his fingers, and a jet-black sword appeared in front of him. He snatched it out of the air and began to leisurely walk towards me.

Shield up, I slowly began walking towards my opponent. Ghirahim had range on me, given the fact that his sword was far longer than my own, but that also meant he had less maneuverability up close, and I suspected he wouldn't be grabbing my sword again. I could do this.

The sound of clashing steel rang through the woods for what felt like hours. Ghirahim was far too quick at reading my movements, but I eventually caught on to his, and thus when one of us went in for a strike, the other would quickly parry the attack. My situation, or more specifically, Zelda's, was verging on dire, but I couldn't help be feel a bit exhilarated. It had been years since I fought someone whose moves I hadn't seen thousands of times and was actually worth my attention. Sparring with the Academy students was a nice breather from how stagnant Termina had become for me, but even then, I was holding myself back. Here and now, I had to fight for my life as well as countless others. There were no rules, just survive.

After one last clash of our blades, Ghirahim jumped back, looking ever so slightly out of breath. "Enough of this nonsense," Ghirahim muttered, clutching a small gash on his arm. "Clearly, you have more experience with a sword than most other Skyloftians that come falling from your little nest. I see no point in continuing this match."

I felt the effects of our battle far more than Ghirahim seemed to, but I refused to let it show beyond panting. "That's it? Yeah, right. There's no way we're done here."

Ghirahim warped his sword away and smirked. "We're very much done here, skychild. But, in case you haven't noticed, I was kind enough to spare your life. Don't think I can't see your fatigue. You Skyloftians have pathetic endurance." Ghirahim held out his hand. "Despite that, I see potential in you to be a wonderful servant."

"W-what?" I took a step back. "A servant? No way in hell am I going to become a servant for anyone, let alone some fucked-up creep like you!"

The man in front of me glowered. "For your sake, I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that. Now, come. Let us return to my manor. You've wasted enough of my time as it is, and I would quite like to get back on track."

"I am NOT going anywhere with—hey!"

Ghirahim yanked me to his side, taking advantage of my exhaustion. With a snap of his fingers, I felt tendrils of magic wrap around us, and we teleported away from the woods.

* * *

Shortly after Ghirahim warped us to our destination, my knees nearly buckled. Whatever magic he was using was far different from the magic my warp songs used. It made me sick to my stomach and want to throw up.

"Get up," Ghirahim barked in annoyance. "While I am impressed you didn't react as poorly to my magic as most Skyloftians do, I won't be carrying you anywhere. Crawl if you must, but don't just stand there like a sick dog."

"Shut…the _fuck_ …up…" I managed to retort. On slightly shaky legs, I followed him, knowing that trying to fight in my current state would essentially be suicide.

I started taking a survey of my surroundings. I couldn't see anything that looked remotely like the woods we were just in, especially since dusk was arriving upon the land. Instead of being surrounded by trees, we were in a wide field with small villages dispersed throughout it. Several large structures, some rivaling the size and complexity of Hyrule Castle, could be seen as well, though they were few and far between. One such building was directly in front of us. It had a relatively plain exterior in terms of color, with everything in the front being various shades of black or grey, but it still seemed to radiate a strong aura of sorts. One that seemed to spell out " **DANGER** " in bold and underlined letters.

Ghirahim made a sharp turn and half-dragged me to a smaller stone building, one I quickly recognized as a jail of sorts. It was empty and surprisingly well-kept, though it still lacked a bed even half as decent as the one from my childhood. I couldn't fathom a clean jail; the ones I had seen in both Hyrule and Termina had been extraordinarily filthy and oftentimes crammed with people.

We stopped in front of the first cell. "Since you'll be staying as my servant, I'll be taking these from you." Before I could even comprehend what was happening, Ghirahim managed to take my adventure pouch and sword, making them vanish into diamonds.

"What? No! Hey, give those back!" I tried to tackle him, but he easily shoved me into the cell.

"Ah, ah, ah, I can't risk having you stabbing me in the back or escaping, now, can I?" Ghirahim cooed as he locked the door. "Normally, I'd have servants stay in their designated section of my manor, but I'm afraid they're rather packed at the moment, and you and I did just have a bit of a tussle, so this will have to do. I'll see you in the morning, skychild!"

I ran up to the bars as Ghirahim strutted out. "Bastard," I spat. I was without weapons, and I couldn't work my magic unless I had my ocarina or my masks—my masks. I froze and stared at the floor. My masks. Ghirahim took my supplies, including my masks. This was bad. While a good portion of them were just for fun now, there were still a few that had the potential to cause trouble, namely the Fierce Deity Mask. I had the spirit of the Hero and the Triforce of Courage, and even I could barely keep my sanity when I used it. If someone rummaged through my pouches and put that mask on…it wouldn't matter if they were able to fight the spirit within for control of their body. It was probably just as strong, and potentially as deranged, as the one sealed within Majora's Mask. It would be a disaster. The end of the world, even.

Sighing, I resigned myself to the slab of "bed" in the corner. I didn't have any way of getting to my items, so riling myself up now would be a waste of energy. I had to save it for an opportunity to snatch what was rightfully mine and hightail it out of there.

I laid in the corner for what felt like an eternity. So much had happened within less than 24 hours. There were the preparations for the Wing Ceremony, Link's loftwing being kidnapped, Zelda's strange behavior, the Wing Ceremony itself, being torn from the sky to save Zelda…I wasn't too surprised that exhaustion hit me like a brick, though I wished that there was something better to lay on. By the time the screech of metal woke me up, I was incredibly stiff and was close to having a crick in my neck.

I cast a weary glance upward, expecting to see the snarky face of my captor. Instead of Ghirahim, however, I saw someone who had to be another servant. Unfortunately, the small amount of moonlight shining through the bars wasn't enough to fully illuminate the person in front of me. All I could gather was that the servant was likely female based on the dress on the figure.

Popping my back, I slowly moved towards the person. "Are you here to get me out?" It was a bit of a long shot, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"I am afraid not," the person whispered. "No one has escaped Lord Ghirahim's manor with their life. The chances of you escaping with yours are incredibly low, especially in your current state. I would suggest you give up the hope of returning to wherever you came from sooner rather than later to avoid painful consequences."

"Well, I'm afraid I can't do that. I've got a destiny to help fulfill, and I'm pretty damn stubborn." I couldn't help but let out a little laugh.

The lady sighed. "You will learn soon enough, though I do wish you would take my advice." She pushed a bundle of something through the bars. "A blanket and some food. Lord Ghirahim forgot to supply you with these earlier and asked me to deliver them to you."

"Oh, so he _does_ care, how sweet of him," I said with heavy sarcasm as I picked up the bundle. "Well, thanks, I guess. To you, not him. He can go rot in hell for all I care."

The lady sighed again. "You would be wise to not say anything like that around others. I did not jest when I said consequences are painful. Now, I bid you goodnight. We will both need the rest to perform to our fullest tomorrow."

"If by 'perform' you mean 'escape', then yeah, you got it, miss!"

I plopped myself back down on the bed and took some bread out of the blanket. There was no way I was going to stay in this hellhole and let Sir Fancypants treat me like some dog. I had to make sure Link would survive down here, and I couldn't do that from a jail cell in the middle of nowhere. One way or another, I'd get out of this tight spot. I always did. This time would be no exception.

* * *

 _I watched as two people fled a castle on a stark white horse, the youngest of the two looking back at me. Shortly after they disappeared, a man on a pitch-black horse rode up to me, hatred in his eyes. I quickly drew my sword, and my surroundings changed. I was in a ring of fire with a pig-like beast, a girl watching from outside the circle. The beast swung at me, and I jumped back to avoid the bone-shattering impact. I quickly notched an arrow of light, aiming directly at the beast's head. I released the arrow, and it struck true, downing the beast and allowing me to run in for the attack. Before I had taken even two steps, a blue fairy darted out in front of me. I stopped. The fairy hovered for a moment longer, then flew off. I cried out, chasing after it. I followed it through the flames, through fields, until we were deep in a forest. Just before I could reach the fairy, it flew behind a huge tree. Turning the corner, I came face-to-face with an eerie mask that radiated death and destruction. I stumbled backwards in surprise, falling into a gap in the earth. A roar came from beneath me, and I turned to see a horrific beast suspended in the void, opening its gaping maw as I fell towards it._

* * *

 **So, back to what I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. While I was retyping my story, I realized that I was complete and utter shit at figuring out where to end chapters when I first started writing this (not that I'm much better now). I ended up merging parts of chapters together to form chapters that were longer and had logical end points, including this one. Besides that, I changed up a decent chunk of the story, figured out a role for a character, etc, etc. Basically, I decided that the easiest thing to do to avoid potential confusion was to boot the rest of the old chapters and allow the new story to be what people see instead. You guys will be seeing updated/newly matched-up versions of what I had previously up to about chapter 9 or so, but after that, it's gonna be all-new stuff, new dangers, new heart break, and yeah. It's gonna be great. I hope. (Man, I wish strikeout was a thing for chapters, I'd love to be able to let my sarcasm soar)**

 **As usual, feel free to leave reviews, questions, comments, blah, blah, blah. Later!**


	8. Servant

**Heyo, what's up? For those of you who had a special person on Valentine's Day, hope you had fun spending time with your person. For those who didn't, hope you still had a nice day. For those who were like me and had a date with calculus (and had your ass handed to you), you have my sympathy. It's also starting to actually get cold now, which is sad because I hate being cold. Anyways, new chapter, here we go!**

 **(Chapter posted 2.19.18)**

* * *

 _Chapter 7: Servant_

I was abruptly torn from sleep when I crashed into a wall. I nearly had the breath knocked out of me, and I was incredibly lucky my skull didn't crack on the hard stone wall I was thrown against.

"Who…who the hell did that…?!" I gasped as I staggered to my feet, fists up and ready for a fight.

"You know, skychild, I thought your people had decent memory capabilities. I suppose I was wrong, given the fact that you can't even seem to remember what you did the previous day."

I finally caught my breath and looked up. Pale skin. White hair. Weird-ass outfit. It all came rushing back to me. I was torn out of the sky in Zelda's place, tried to kill her would-be captor, failed utterly, and was captured instead. It had honestly felt like a bad dream, but there I was, trapped by a self-proclaimed demon lord and without my weapons.

I couldn't stop the snarky comment that bubbled up inside me. "You know, diamond boy, I thought your people had decent manners. I suppose I was—" I was cut short when Ghirahim's face appeared directly in front of my own and the cold steel of a blade was up against my throat.

"Listen well, because I won't be repeating myself," Ghirahim growled. "I could have easily killed you back in Faron Woods. But I didn't. I took _mercy_ on you and made you my servant instead, and I expect you to treat me with respect. The next time you set even a single toe out of line, I will make you regret ever being born." Removing himself and the dagger from my personal space, Ghirahim snapped his fingers. A red chain formed around my neck, allowing him to force me out of the jail and towards the manor.

Annoyed as I was, I took the lack of conversation to gather my thoughts. I tried to recall the dream—or rather, nightmare—I had that night. It was a bit hazy, but I remembered seeing enemies I had faced down in my previous journeys. There was Ganondorf, both before and after he used the power of the Triforce to transform himself into a hideous beast. Then there was Majora, the spirit of the mask that possessed Skull Kid and tried to destroy Termina. But the last one, the beast in the void, was one I had never seen before. Or had I? I suddenly realized that I had seen it before. Prior to the Wing Ceremony, I had a nightmare where a beast had appeared to devour the world. It was the same one. Whatever it was, it was evil enough to be on par with Ganondorf and Majora, and sooner or later, I'd be face-to-teeth with it.

My thoughts then drifted to Link and his dream that night. He had said something about an avocado with teeth yelling at the sky. It had hardly made sense at the time, especially since we had the pressure of finding his bird, but now that I had a moment to think about it, the pieces were falling into place. It wasn't any old nightmare; it was the exact same one I had. This confirmed my suspicions more than anything. Fate was ready to begin the age-old war, but was Link ready for it?

Once we entered the manor, Ghirahim led—dragged, more like—me through several winding halls, stopping us in a room with huge windows. Where there weren't windows, bookcases took over the walls, containing more books than I had ever seen in my life.

In front of one of the windows stood a person who honestly looked like she was thrown into a vat of cool-colored dye. Her dress was a rich shade of blue, while her tights and shoes were black with green stripes crisscrossing the legs. The person's hair was a light blue and shopped off just above the shoulders. Even her eyes were blue, though they seemed almost devoid of life. I hadn't met many people who lived on the Surface, but I had the feeling this much color coordination still wasn't very common.

"Skychild, you will learn how to perform your basic duties from Fionaji," Ghirahim said, drawing me away from my observations. "She is one of my best servants, so I expect you to learn well from her."

"I have a name, you know," I sharply remarked. "My name is—"

Ghirahim yanked on the chain around my neck, cutting me off. "I haven't the time for this right now, nor do I care what your name is. I must go back and try to locate the true location of that blasted goddess incarnation, the one you so rudely tricked me into missing, if you recall. I will be taking my leave now." Dissipating the chain with a snap, Ghirahim strode off, leaving me alone with the servant.

"I am surprised Lord Ghirahim has had so much patience with you thus far. If any other servant had acted the way you did just now, he would have normally taken their head off."

I turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. The servant Ghirahim had brought me to was, in fact, the very same one that had brought me a blanket and some food the night before.

The servant continued. "While Lord Ghirahim is not interested in knowing who you are, I do believe it will be beneficial for both of us to at least know the name of the other. As Lord Ghirahim mentioned, I am known as Fionaji, thought 'Fiona' is more convenient for most people to say. And you are?"

"Rinku," I replied, still rubbing my throat. "My name is Rinku. Now, um, I know you have orders from diamond boy to train me or whatever, but…" I glanced around and looked back at Fiona. "Do you think you could help me find my gear instead?"

"No," Fiona deadpanned. "I explained this to you last night. No one can escape this manor with their life. I have seen many try, only to suffer the same fate as all who tried before them. Death." Fiona started walking towards one of the doors. "Come now. The sooner we get started, the sooner you will understand your basic duties."

* * *

With every passing hour, I grew more annoyed. I was a hero who saved not just one, but _two_ worlds, and I was reduced to cleaning the floors of some stuck-up creep who didn't seem to know how pants are supposed to look. I never expected to always be recognized as a hero by everyone, which was why I was fine with being a ranch hand, but this was just too far.

Fiona was the first to break the silence. "You are from the sky, correct?" I nodded, and she continued. "It has been a long time since your kind has been on the Surface. I would not be surprised if information about it has been lost to the ages. Would you like me to tell you about some of the history of the Surface?"

I smiled and nodded. She was right about the Surface being lost to history; it had become but legend up in Skyloft. While I had a general idea about the Surface from those legends as well as what few remained in my own era, it would do me good to hear about it from someone who actually lived on it in this era.

For someone who seemed incredibly uptight, Fiona was awfully chatty when the subject of the conversation had something to do with history. She told me all sorts of stories about the surface, from the deep greens of Faron Woods, to the fiery heights of Eldin Volcano, all the way to the dried-up waters of what used to be the Lanyaru Mining Facility and Sea.

The story, or rather, legend, that caught my attention the most was the one about something known as The Great War. It told of the massive war over the Triforce that took place between the Goddess Hylia and the Demon King Demise. It was far more grievous than the war that had taken place in my era, so much so that in order to preserve her people, it was said that Hylia had gathered the survivors on a patch of land and rent it from the earth, sending them and the Triforce skyward, away from the reach of Demise. With the remaining Surface creatures, it was said that Hylia was able to strip Demise of his physical form and seal him away for eternity.

While the land and Triforce being sent into the sky lined up with Skyloft existing in the first place and the fact that my Triforce of Courage reacted to something up there, I had my doubts about the "sealed away for eternity" part. If that were the case, Link and I wouldn't have had that nightmare, Zelda wouldn't have been inexplicably drawn to the Surface, and Ghirahim wouldn't be trying to capture Zelda to revive Demise, if my suspicions were correct. Besides, despite the legend itself being long forgotten by my era, the power of the Demon King was known across the land. Ganondorf himself had taken that title to strike fear in his enemies. After all, what sane person would want to fight against someone who was basically calling himself a god?

Now that I had an idea of what evil was plaguing the land, I desperately hoped Link would be able to prepare himself in time. The dinky practice swords from the Academy weren't going to do much against a god, even if it was a weakened one. He needed to find the Master Sword. Where it lay hidden in this era was beyond me, but the Master Sword was bound to the spirit of the Hero. It had to be here somewhere, and Link had to find it soon.

Aside from my occasional dissociations, I managed to get through the day with surprisingly few incidents. Fiona was incredibly easy for me to get along with, so long as the subject stayed firmly away from Ghirahim. The other servants were another matter entirely, what with the occasional nasty glare or snide comment sent my way. I suspected the only reason it never progressed beyond that was because of Fiona. From what I could gather, she was one of the highest-ranking servants in the manor. So long as I was under her wing, it looked as if the other servants wouldn't be able to really touch me.

"It is unfortunate that you must stay down here instead of the servants' quarters," Fiona remarked she brought me back to my cell, "though I do believe it to be for the better, especially right now."

I glanced at her inquisitively. "What do you mean by that?"

"I trust you noticed the reaction of the other servants to your presence?" When I nodded, Fiona sighed. "Yes, petty as it may be, demons have held a long-standing grudge against the people of Hylia. No matter how many generations pass, many of us continue to hold this grudge up as if it were a trophy. I would not be surprised if one of them would make an attempt on your life if given the opportunity."

I made a face at that. "Well, that's nice. Then why's diamond boy keeping me in a cell with no way to defend myself or escape danger?"

" _Lord Ghirahim_ has put more thought into this than you may think." Fiona made sure to put emphasis on correcting what I called Ghirahim. "He is very much aware of this grudge, seeing as he was alive when it first came to be. That is why he chose this jailcell in particular to put you in. It was originally made to hold prisoners of high value to enemies, and as such, it is not easy to break in or out of. This grudge is also why he assigned me to train you. I am one of the few who does not hold a grudge against your people for what your distant ancestors did."

I was impressed that Ghirahim thought that far ahead, and even more so that he decided to not give others the opportunity to kill me, but I still couldn't trust him. Thoughtful or not, he was still my enemy, and he did try to kill me right after we first met. I wouldn't put it past him to be doing this to convince me to switch sides and help him capture Zelda.

"Oh, really now? You don't hate Hylians?" I crossed my arms and looked at her, refraining from mentioning my previous thoughts. "And why would that be?"

Fiona shrugged. "I simply do not think it logical to hate someone for following their leader, and it is even less logical to hate others for what their ancestors did. Those actions are far beyond their control. I believe it best to see someone for what they do with their own power and what ideals they believe in." She unlocked the cell I was in the previous night and ushered me into it. "I do wish there was more I could do to make your living situation more…bearable, but even I cannot remodel a jailcell into a decent bedroom."

I waved her comment off. "Hey, no need to worry about it. You can't expect yourself to be able to do everything. Besides," I put on a more serious face, "I have no intentions on staying here long."

Fiona just looked at me. I could see the disappointment in her eyes before she turned away from me. "I bid you good night. I will see you again in the morning."

* * *

 **"New chapter" aka Rinku continues to be a sarcastic child, Ghirahim doesn't give a shit, and Fiona just wants to follow orders while keeping the newbie alive. Fun little thing, part of Fiona's full name actually does mean something in another language, and it means what it means for a reason. We'll see if my writing skills are capable of conveying what I want to convey, though. And if Google Translate worked correctly.**


	9. Assassins

**So. It's been awhile since I updated. Whoops. I blame college. Taking engineering classes is like getting smacked in the face with a sack of bricks and then getting run over by a lawn mower.**

 **Kidding, kidding. Mostly, anyways. I did have three midterms in two days, and that kinda hurt. And I get to have two finals in a single day! Joy!**

 **I've actually had this chapter ready to go for awhile now, but I just haven't had the time to even think about posting it. Totally wasn't that I forgot I had it ready. Me, forget stuff? Never.**

 _ **Chapter posted 4.20.18 (heyooo, blaze it)**_

* * *

 _Chapter 8: Assassins_

My intentions of escaping within a day quickly turned into two. Then those two days turned into three, then a week, then it started to approach a month. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how sneaky I was, I couldn't find a way out of my cell, and I also couldn't find my gear. Thankfully, it was Fiona who usually caught me red-hand, but occasionally it would be another demon or, whenever my luck was _really_ bad, Ghirahim himself. While Fiona would let me off with just a scolding, the others…weren't as kind. Nothing they dished out was enough to completely deter my efforts, but I was definitely bruised up more times than I'd care to count.

I sighed as I half-heartedly wiped the window in front of me. Some hero I was. Without my gear, I was just some kid. I never realized just how much I relied on the stuff. I desperately needed to find it, if only for my own ego.

"Rinku, you seem more downcast than before," Fiona said as she walked up to me. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Would being sick get me out of cleaning?" When Fiona just stared at me, I shook my head. "Nah, I'm just…I dunno, feeling a bit useless right now. I did so much when I was younger, so many amazing things. Perilous, but amazing. I did all of that, and now…"

Fiona put a hand on my shoulder. "Rinku. It is fine for you to be feeling this way. I could tell from the moment we met that you had a wild spirit in you, one that would suffer from being tied down."

"Then why wouldn't you help me get out? Why do you insist on keeping me here?" I felt myself becoming accusatory, but I couldn't stop myself. "If—if you could just help me find my gear, I'd be able to get both of us out of this hellhole! You'd be able to live a life as a new person, I'd be able to help my friends—"

I was shushed by Fiona putting a finger to my mouth. "I cannot claim to understand how strong your desire to escape is, but allow me to explain. Many servants have tried to escape this manor. They were all demons who appeared to have good chances; they were strong, quiet, quick, clever, and many other qualities. Some were even on Ghirahim's 'good' side. Yet none have been able to make it to the edge of the property. For your own sake, I refuse to let you to meet the same fate as them. As for me…" Fiona trailed off and looked out the window. "I do not think there is a life for me outside of this service. I know not of what others do as, say, a ranch hand or a seamstress. I was left at this manor at an early age, and thus, I accepted long ago that this is my duty in life."

Forcing myself to calm down, I started to think of a reply. Fiona sounded like she was fine with her life, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She didn't deserve to be subjected to the bullshit Ghirahim pulled on an almost daily basis.

"Fiona, don't say that. There's always a chance for a new beginning, a chance for hope to rise again. There's so much more to life than being stuck as a servant to a stuck-up guy who doesn't even give you the time of day."

"Lord Ghirahim has told me what time it was on multiple occasions."

"Fiona."

I wanted to say more, but the lights suddenly flickered and the chandeliers above us made a strange creaking sound. I cocked my head and glanced up. It couldn't have been a breeze; it was as far from windy as it could get outside. Signaling Fiona to remain quiet, I stole a better glance at the ceiling. Moving across the swaying chandeliers were two people clothed in all-black.

"Fiona," I began, "I may not be thrilled about this whole 'servant' thing, but I'm pretty sure most servants aren't hired to sneak around on the ceiling. Or carry weapons while sneaking around on the ceiling."

"Oh dear." I could practically hear the color drain from Fiona's face as she spoke. "We—we must alert Lord Ghirahim immediately. But I have not the faintest idea where he may be."

I was faced with yet another fork in my path. I could just let these two take care of my dirty work and kill Ghirahim. It would make my life, not to mention Link's, a whole lot easier if he was removed from the picture sooner rather than later. But, at the same time, I had my doubts as to whether they could actually pull it off. From what I could tell, Ghirahim was usually too aware of his surroundings to be taken by surprise. On top of that, he managed to embed my sword in a tree simply by throwing it. Even on the off-chance they managed to sneak up on him, he'd kill them within seconds, and nothing would change for my situation. Unless…

"You may not know, but those guys probably do." I jerked my head in the direction of the strangers. "I'm going to try and follow them without raising their suspicions. You try to find someone who knows where Ghirahim is, and maybe where weapons are kept. I'm just short of useless without my gear, so I'll most likely need some form of backup if I'm forced to confront them head-on."

Fiona looked at me curiously. "I thought that you didn't like Lord Ghirahim? Why would you try to protect him?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong," I said as I started to scoot away. "I still hate the creep. But I also know those guys can't kill him, so I may as well try to get on his good side since the opportunity's come up." A sheepish grin made its way onto my face. "Ah, that sounded worse out loud. Please don't tell anyone I said that."

* * *

Following those people turned into something of an adventure. It only took a few minutes for me to realize that I had no idea where I was. While I had been stuck here for quite some time, I never really had the opportunity to make a mental map of the entire manor. Thankfully, I had taken my rag with me, so if I felt as though they were getting suspicious, I began to clean whatever random vase or table happened to be nearby. I got some strange looks from those who passed by, but I was at least able to keep up with my targets.

Eventually, the strangers led me into a room full of books. It was the very same room I officially met Fiona in. They began scaling the sides of the bookcases, and I followed suite. As I carefully made my way over to them, I noticed a lone figure sitting at one of the desks. Ghirahim. He had to have been completely engrossed in whatever book he was reading, because there was no way he'd not hear any of us under normal circumstances.

I froze in disbelief when the strangers—assassins, more like—each pulled out a dagger. They had to have been complete idiots. After all, what could two dinky pieces of metal do against someone as freakishly strong as Ghirahim? When they started coating the dagger in a strange liquid, however, I pieced it all together. It wouldn't matter if they couldn't land a hit to a vital organ; so long as they made a deep enough cut, they'd get what they wanted. And if they thought the toxin could do a number on Ghirahim, there was a high chance that it was even more fatal to me. I had to make sure every move I made counted.

Taking a deep breath, I rushed the assassin closest to me and took both of us down to the table below. He was shocked at first, but was quick to overcome it and started to slash at me with his weapon, narrowly missing me each time as I struggled to keep his arm away from me.

"What in Din's name is the meaning of this?!" During our tussle, Ghirahim had stepped back, startled to see two people fall from above him, and probably a little more than peeved to see that I was one of them.

"Above you! Move!" I barked sharply at Ghirahim as I continued to grapple with the assassin. A thud and an enraged yell told me that Ghirahim understood my warning in time to avoid being jumped by the second assassin.

Unfortunately, the noise caused a lapse in my concentration, giving my opponent an opportunity to wrench his arm free and bury his dagger squarely in my right shoulder. I screamed in pain and, with my arms no longer being occupied by his, socked him in the face as hard as I could multiple times, knocking him out after a few fists to the face.

Getting off of the table, I turned to see that Ghirahim had also dispatched his assailant, albeit in a more…gruesome manner. I cringed as I averted my gaze from the mangled body. Apparently, demons didn't turn into dust upon death like monsters did.

Ghirahim looked over at me and locked his gaze onto my arm. "There's…a dagger in your arm."

"I know." I was starting to feel woozy.

"It's bleeding profusely. More than it should be, given you haven't removed it yet."

I glanced over at my wound. It definitely looked bloodier than it should have. My previously white sleeve was almost completely red. A fresh wave of nausea hit me. Whatever was on that blade was definitely strong, but removing the dagger would have only allowed for even more blood loss.

"Hm, that's funny. Mus'be the stuff on the dagger."

"I beg your pardon?"

"They put stuff 'n the weapons." I could feel my words beginning to slur. "Dunno what, but iz very strong 'n loopy…'n iz dark…" My vision left me, and I collapsed into something soft but sturdy, most likely Ghirahim. I felt myself being picked up before I completely lost consciousness.

* * *

When I came to, I had a killer headache as well as a stabbing pain in my arm. Not wanting to jostle myself too much, I tried to open my eyes. The lighting was dim, but still too bright for my eyes to handle. I hissed as I shut them again.

"Oh, so you're finally awake, now, are you?" Footsteps approached from my left, stopping right next to me. "That was quite the concoction you took in. According to the medics, it was an infusion of larkspur mixed in with a toxin that prevented blood clotting. Frankly, I'm surprised you managed to survive after all, given how low Skyloftians' toxin tolerances are."

I tried to suppress a sigh and failed. Ghirahim. "Even after I save your skin, you're still insistent on mocking me, huh?"

"I only speak the truth, skychild." I could practically see the smirk he probably had on his face. "Regardless, it was…brave of you to try and protect me. Foolish, but brave."

"I wouldn't say foolish, considering you were so engrossed in reading that book that you didn't hear any of us climbing the shelves."

Ghirahim clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I _would_ say foolish, considering you've been unconscious for nearly three days. You haven't a clue how much magic was wasted to keep you alive."

I took a moment to process that information. Three days. That was 72 hours of me not being aware of what was happening. Something huge could have happened. Link could have come down to the Surface. Zelda could have fallen to the Surface. While I knew I couldn't control how long I was out for, I couldn't help but berate myself for my decisions.

"Hello? Rinku, was it? Did you fall unconscious again? Or perhaps I'm now speaking to a corpse?"

I shifted my head towards Ghirahim, slightly opening my eyes. "I never told you my name."

"True," Ghirahim agreed. "I never found it necessary to learn your name until recently. It was Fionaji who told me as she was explaining the situation. Had she not arrived when she did, I would likely be interrogating you now instead of giving you an opportunity to readjust to consciousness."

"Guess I owe her one, then." My eyes were mostly open now, and I could see that Ghirahim had something else to say. "So, let's cut the chit-chat and get to the point; why are you _really_ here? And don't say it's because you wanted to check up on your precious little prisoner, because we both know that's a lie."

Ghirahim crossed his arms. "You're sharp, skychild. Indeed, I do have a reason for being here. I'm here to inform you that I have come to a decision regarding your status in my manor."

"What, that I'm weak and useless and that you should send me back to Skyloft?"

"Not even close," Ghirahim laughed. "In fact, I do believe you have already proven the opposite of your statement. Skychild, I have come to realize that having you be a mere servant is far too great a waste of your potential. Despite your numerous escapades, you have managed to surpass a great number of my servants by putting your life on the line for me. Therefore, I have decided that you are to be my bodyguard."

My face scrunched up. " _Bodyguard?_ Ew. No. I like my idea better."

Another small chuckle escaped Ghirahim's throat. "Of course you would, skychild, but sadly, I'm afraid you haven't a say in the matter." He took a step back. "Now that I have informed you of your new duty, I must be off. I've been getting some rather interesting reports, and I must investigate them further. I shall be back in a few days to see if you are well enough to move." A cloud of diamonds engulfed him with a snap, and he was gone.

I wanted to hit something. Being a bodyguard was not something I was interested in. I had decided that after having to carry Princess Ruto through Jabu-Jabu and escort the Deku Princess back to the Deku Palace. I sure as hell didn't want to have to keep protecting the very person who was holding me here against my will.

As I continued to try and think of ways out of the new role Ghirahim had planned for me, I came to realize something. All of my previous attempts to get my gear back failed, but what if I just played along with this? Surely Ghirahim wouldn't expect me to be a bodyguard without some form of weaponry. Plus, I'd have to follow him around, which would give me a chance to get a better sense of the manor's layout.

I nodded to myself, accepting the potential my situation held. Maybe I'd be able to work all of this out after all.

* * *

 **Lmao I still can't end a chapter to save my life.**

 **While I may not have been writing for awhile, I have been planning out sequences of events. I've gotten a little over four more chapters planned out, as well as events that I absolutely will write in at some point in time. I actually have most of the ending planned out, probably something like five chapters or so, as well as chapter names for those five and a few other random ones. Needless to say, I am dead-set on finishing this thing, even if it takes me the entirety of college to do so.**

 **I doubt I'll be posting again soon, so good luck to those who are about to take their finals. We'll suffer through them together. And, congrats to those who will be graduating from high school/college come May. You're almost there!**


	10. Training

**Heyo! Hope everyone's doing well. I, personally, feel much better now that finals are over. I can officially say I survived my first year of college, which is pretty nice. I wasn't able to really do a whole lot of writing since I was busy studying, but that's why I had this one ready to post. If I didn't have it ready, there wouldn't be an update for a while since I'm going on a trip tomorrow and I'm not bringing my computer (why would I bring it and risk losing literally everything I need?)**

 **I'll go ahead and leave the rest of my ramblings for the end of the chapter. Onward!**

 _ **Chapter updated 5.19.18**_

* * *

 _Chapter 9: Training_

It took me a few days to fully recover after regaining consciousness. I tried to get to know some of the medics during that time, but it appeared as though they wanted nothing to do with me. It was not surprising in the least, considering what Fiona had told me about most demons still hating Hylians, but still a bit disappointing. Having more allies than just Fiona would have been a great asset.

Once I was discharged from the medical wing, I was left to wander the manor on my own. It felt strange after nearly a month of someone always having a close eye on me, but I decided to make the most of this newfound trust to explore the manor without having to be under the cover of darkness.

The manor was just as huge and sprawling as I imagined it to be. It was almost on par with the dungeons I had explored on my journeys, just with less things leaping out to kill me and less locks that broke every key I used. There were a few rooms I was already familiar with, such as the kitchen and library, but there was so much more I had yet to discover. There was a room I presumed to be a ballroom, one that looked like a meeting hall, and yet another room full of gossiping women that I was kicked out of almost immediately for not being "womanly" enough for their standards.

I was turning a corner, lost in thought, when I smacked face-first into someone's chest. Upon stepping back and muttering an apology, I recognized the bright red cape I had come to hate. I bit back a groan. Of all the people I could've run into, it _had_ to be Ghirahim.

"For the record," I began, "I was _not_ snooping around this time. I know I've done it plenty of times before, but they just let me go without supervision."

"I know, skychild," Ghirahim replied. "After all, that is exactly what I told the medics to do. I was too busy earlier today to stop by, so I requested that you be allowed to wander the manor on your own. You seemed capable enough that I figured you wouldn't get lost too easily."

I gave him a flabbergasted look. "Wait, so you _let_ me wander around? What if I tried to escape? You still don't seem keen on letting me go."

"I admit, it would have been most unfortunate if you had actually tried. Mostly for you, seeing as if you tried, I would have had to kill you." Ghirahim flashed me a devilish grin.

"I don't get you," I deadpanned. Who could blame me for being confused? First he wants to kill me, then he captures and enslaves me, then kind of says he trusts me, then threatens to kill me again. With his lack of pattern, it was a bit hard to predict what he would do or say next.

"Well, I suggest you get over that sooner rather than later, especially if you are to be my new bodyguard. Which brings me to the reason I was looking for you," Ghirahim said as he stood up straighter. "While I did get a glimpse of your athletic prowess when we first met, time has passed since then, and I do believe it best that you do some training to refresh yourself on how to properly fight. You were rather sloppy while fending off that assassin."

I wanted to bite back after he insulted me yet again, but for once, I held myself back. I wasn't strong enough to beat him with my own training, and here he was now, offering me a chance to not only see what his training regime was, but do it myself. For Zelda's sake, as well as my own, I couldn't let the opportunity slip through my fingers.

"Ugh, fine," I sighed, trying to disguise my realization as contempt. "Lead the way, my oh-so-perfect lord."

* * *

It may have been my first day on the "job" and first day walking in a while, but Ghirahim clearly had no intentions on taking it easy on me.

"Skychild, you call that sprinting? That was the slowest, most pathetic 'sprint' I have seen in decades!"

"You can lift more than that. Don't try to argue against it, I've seen you carrying around those sacks of flour for the bakers."

"What did you think would happen if you didn't duck? That the ball would just fly around you as if it were a bird? You must be faster to react than that, skychild!"

By the end of it all, I was bruised, exhausted, and rather irritated. Ghirahim had been insulting me the entire time, and every time I talked back, he'd increase the difficulty of the exercise tenfold. I had never wanted to punch someone in the face so badly in my life.

"Skychild, that was pathetic, even compared to some of the weakest soldiers I've trained," Ghirahim said as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Regardless, I suppose that was not terrible for a child of Hylia. From what I recall of your kind, most either fled from battle screaming or barely lasted a second in combat. Weaklings, all of them."

"You know, I can't tell if you're trying to compliment me or insult me," I replied as I took a swig of water. "It's probably the latter, seeing as we're not all buddy-buddy. And, I have a name. You already know it."

"Ah, of course, _Rinku_ ," Ghirahim chirped, "but, you said it yourself. We're not 'buddy-buddy', and thus, I have no need to call you by your name."

"Well, by that logic, I'm not obligated to call you Ghirahim, diamond boy."

Ghirahim glared at me. "On the contrary, I am still the head of this manor; therefore, you are required to show at least a _modicum_ of respect. Do not expect me to keep this patience up for long. I am not known for my patience, and if you continue to irritate me, you shall see firsthand what happens when it runs out." He nodded his head towards the door. "Come, now. I do believe that is enough for the day. It is time we retire to our bed chambers."

"Oh boy, sleeping in a stone box, that's exactly what I love doing after being screamed at for like five hours." I made sure to lay the sarcasm on thick, disregarding his previous statement.

Ghirahim cocked an eyebrow. "Surely you don't think that I would have my bodyguard sleep in a cell far away from me? That would completely defeat the purpose of having one."

I was confused. He was moving me? But there wasn't any more space in the servants' quarters. There wasn't anywhere for me to go. Unless…

"I am _not_ sleeping in the same room as you."

"Ha! The feeling is mutual, skychild," Ghirahim laughed. "Few get the privilege of spending even a single night with me, and you certainly won't be one of them. No, you shall not be staying in my personal room, but instead, a room close by."

I paused for a moment. "Wait, if there's been an empty room this whole time, why'd you go off and keep me in that cell for so long?"

"Well, I can't just go around giving out nice rooms to every servant I have, now, can I? Besides, you had none of my trust until your little stunt with those assassins, so it was much easier on my mind at the time to keep you locked up out there."

I wanted to dispute him after having spent nearly a month in that stone-cold prison, but he did have a point. If the spare room was near his, there was no way it was in the servants' quarters. And, I _did_ try to kill him right off the bat. That's not necessarily the best way to earn someone's trust.

I followed Ghirahim up a series of hallways and staircases, many of which were new to me. I still got the occasional evil eye from passersby, but they made no move to do any harm to me. Even they weren't dumb enough to do something like that right in front of Ghirahim.

"Here we are!" Ghirahim came to a sudden halt, causing me to nearly crash into him. We were in front of a set of doors that didn't look nearly as ornate as some of the doors to other rooms. Their plainness, however, betrayed what the room looked like on the inside. Once Ghirahim opened them, I was met with a rather spacious room. Huge windows lined one of the walls, letting in the soft evening light. A bed was positioned in the middle of another wall. After wandering over to it, I discovered that it had a breathtaking view of Faron Woods. The rest of the furniture didn't seem to have anything special to it, but I didn't mind. It wasn't quite as cozy as Romani Ranch or my tree in the Kokiri Forest, but it was certainly better maintained. Aside from the short period of time I had stayed at Hyrule Castle, this had to of been the fanciest room I was given.

"I trust it is to your liking?" I was brought back to reality by my companion. Of course he would want to know what I thought of the room.

"Well…" I bobbed my head in thought. I wasn't in the mood to boost his pride, but I certainly couldn't sound ungrateful, tempting as it was. "It's certainly bigger than any other rooms I've stayed in. Um, thank you."

A small smirk appeared on Ghirahim's face. "You're welcome. Now, I shall take my leave, but I will come to fetch you in the morning." Ghirahim closed the door, but not even a second after leaving, he reopened it. "Ah, I nearly forgot to mention it, but don't bother trying to escape through the windows. I casted a spell that will alert me if you open or damage them in any way. Now, I bid you goodnight."

I glanced between the windows and the door. I wasn't sensitive enough to magic to tell if he was bluffing or not, but regardless of that, Fiona's warning stuck to me. I wasn't going to be of much use to Link if I went and got myself killed before his journey even began. It would be better for me to play it safe for the moment, but it probably wouldn't hurt to cause a little mayhem for my captor every now and then.

A small grin appeared on my face as I confidently strode over to the windows and undid a latch, allowing the window to open a crack. Seconds after I turned back to the door, Ghirahim flung it open, looking at me in disbelief when he saw that I wasn't actually trying to escape.

"Are you _serious_ right now?"

I tilted my head and smiled at him. This was going to be fun.

* * *

 **I like writing Rinku as a spiteful/sarcastic asshole. That's what I aspire to be in life but I'm too chicken to actually do it myself.**

 **Also, I figured I should go ahead and mention this now. Just as a heads up, I have zero intentions on having one of those "happy happy everyone lives and all is right with the world :D" endings. Nah, that's boring. I know exactly what the ending of this will be, and so long as my words work with me, there will be angst. Alllll of the angst. I think that's the right word, anyways. So, if you don't like stories where not everything goes the way you hope it will, you'd best hop off the train now. Or don't and suffer through it with everyone else, I can't tell you what to do, I'm not your mom.**


	11. Six Words

**Aaaand I'm back! I wish I could've enjoyed the warm weather and relaxed more, but my dad's definition of "relaxing" is do literally as much as possible and only go back to the hotel to sleep. Ah, well. Maybe another day.**

 **I think this was about where I had left off before I started rewriting this story. I had the next couple of chapters after it as well, but I never actually posted them because I hated how they sounded, so this is all-new stuff you guys will be reading form here on out! Milestone achieved!**

 **Reviews from the previous chapter:**

 **Katriss: Glad you enjoyed the chapter! I certainly try my best to keep things entertaining. Also, thanks for letting me know about the repeated dialogue. I try to catch those as I go (I'm basically blanching half the time as I write because of how often it happens), but it does manage to escape my sight every now and then.**

 **Guest: I wouldn't call it a full-blown tragedy, but I sure as heck am not going for the happy happy Disney ending. I don't wanna go into details because I wanna keep some form of surprise going, but I know some people read stories and want 100% happy endings, hence why I decided to mention it just in case there were people reading this and hoping for there to be a perfect ending.**

 _ **Chapter posted 5.19.18**_

* * *

 _Chapter 10: Six Words_

"Ok, I get that _maybe_ I shouldn't have let that cucco loose in the manor, but did you really have to wake me up this early because of it?" I yawned as I looked out a window in the hallway. "The sun's not even up yet. This is actual torture."

Over the past week, I constantly switched between being Ghirahim's "loyal" pet and being a remlit in hylian form. I really only caused mischief whenever I felt Ghirahim's nonsense was getting a few notches too high, which was quite often during the first few days. He'd tell me there was a tiny smudge on a vase, shortly afterwards he'd find that all of the vases near his room were smeared with soap residue; he'd yell at a servant for tripping and nearly spilling tea on the ground, I'd rig his door to have tea bags fall on his head as soon as he opened it. After a few days of battling his pettiness with my own, he seemed to get the message and dialed it back a little, which was very strange and unexpected as far as I was concerned, but I wasn't about to question a blessing like that.

"Skychild, you know nothing of torture. This is a minor inconvenience at most," Ghirahim replied, ignoring my sarcasm, "and, this has nothing to do with that particular…incident. We will discuss that at a later time. The reason for your early awakening is because of an important meeting I must attend."

"Last I checked, when someone says 'I', they're talking about themselves, not another person."

"Ah, so you remember the definition of a word, how grand." Ghirahim shook his head. "In case you have forgotten, I have made you my bodyguard, so thus you must attend the meeting as well."

"As if there's people you work with who are dumb enough to try and kill you," I scoffed.

"That is actually the case," Ghirahim replied. "In fact, I have suspicions that it was another noble who sent those assassins from the previous week."

"Oh." I winced and shifted my gaze to the floor, unsure of how to respond. This was why I hated getting involved in the lives of royalty or nobility. It seemed like there was always someone scheming to kill someone else for one dumb reason or another.

Ghirahim led me to a room with a large table at the center of it. Various demons, most likely noblemen or military commanders, were seated around it, waiting for the meeting to start. Being in a manor full of people who hated my existence was already bad enough, but being in a room full of the most powerful of them…it set me on edge. I desperately hoped for the meeting to remain cordial, especially since I had no real weapons to fight with. How Ghirahim thought it made sense for a bodyguard to have no weapons was far beyond me.

Ghirahim took a seat at the table while I stood behind him. "I take it General Osoku is running late?" When nearly everyone in the room murmured in confirmation, Ghirahim sighed. "Well, knowing his habits, he won't be here for at least another half hour, so I suppose we shall start without him."

The meeting was mostly about politics, so my interest waned rather quickly. I took instead to sizing up the people in the room. Save for a few scrawny men, they all looked intimidating, cunning, or a combination of the two. These were definitely people I wouldn't want to fight without a sword or a transformation mask. Based on what Ghirahim told me, there were a few of them who wanted his head on a pike. With his habit of flaunting about and the fact that he had more or less taken me under his wing (despite it being against my will), it was no surprise to me that some people would grow tired of his antics. I tried to pick out potential suspects, but looking at their faces was like looking at a brick wall. It was impossible for me to get a read on anyone.

"—long-coveted 'spirit maiden', right?" A voice from the other side of the table caught my attention. The subject was on Zelda now. "I'm calling bullshit on that one. You've been hunting for her for, what, millennia at this point? Face it, Ghirahim; you need to stop living in the past. Demise is dead. There's no changing that. Don't waste your time trying to bring back a dead god."

"You dare assume you know the events of a war that occurred eras before your birth?" Ghirahim gripped the table, causing small cracks to appear in it. "Unlike you, I was there. My Master is merely sealed away. If he were actually dead, I doubt I would still be alive now."

"Perhaps your memory has failed in that time. Physical immortality does not necessarily mean mental immortality, after all."

"Seeing as I have been preparing for the ritual to remove the seal since the day that blasted goddess stripped my Master of physical form, I doubt that I have incorrectly recalled what transpired at the end of the war."

"Well, let's assume for a moment that, perhaps, you're right, and Demise is still alive. Do you really think he'd give you mercy for taking so long to revive him?" The other demon crossed his arms. "I doubt that the stories of his ruthlessness are far off the mark. Sword or not, if he's pissed about how long it took for you to break the seal—which I'm sure would be the case by now—he'd make sure to make it known, even if it ends in your death. I think it would in your best interest to keep him under Hylia's spike. Though, as I've been saying, he is dead, so it doesn't—"

Ghirahim's hand broke the table. "That's enough out of you. One more word of blasphemy and there _will_ be consequences." His voice was eerily calm and cold. I could tell it took all his willpower to not leap across the table and grab his adversary's throat. The other demon raised a brow and met Ghirahim's glare, leaning back into his chair. It appeared that he knew not to push the subject any further than he already had.

"Now, perhaps we can return to a more… _pleasant_ topic. I trust there are no more words to say on this matter?" Ghirahim glared at everyone at the table. Before another word could be said, the doors burst open to reveal a rather stout demon. All heads turned to the newcomer in a mixture of shock, confusion, and annoyance. Ghirahim was clearly more on the annoyed side. "General Osoku! What in Din's name took you so long? And why do you look as though you were chased by a wild boar?"

"A-apologies, milord," Osoku panted. "I would have been here much sooner, but you see, right as I was about to leave, I received an interesting report, a-and I had to double-check to make sure it was correct, which took longer than I would have liked, but then—"

"What is it?" Ghirahim was still clearly irritated from the earlier conversation, as he cut off Osoku much like he did the previous demon. "Quit fumbling over your words and spit it out already! What could possibly be so important that you took well over an hour to arrive?"

My jaw clenched. I didn't know for sure what report Osoku had received, but whatever it was, it was something that gave him an excited glint in his eye and was worth being scolded by Ghirahim for being late. If it was what I thought it was, Link and I were running out of time.

Osoku took a deep breath and collected himself. Looking at Ghirahim, Osoku spoke the six words I desperately did not want to hear.

"The Spirit Maiden has been found."

* * *

 **A bit of a short chapter, but hey. Things still happened, Ghirahim got mad, Rinku's stressed, and Zelda's on the surface? What? Someone remind the writer that Zelda wasn't dragged down by the tornado!**

 **I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully it will be up sometime in the next week or two. If it's not, it's likely because I decided to save up chapters so that I can post more consistently during my summer class. It's gonna take up a lot of time and energy, so I doubt I'll be writing much during June.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, ask questions, fav/follow this story, etc, etc. Catch you on the flip side!**


	12. Skyview

**I was gonna wait until the first day of June to post this, but. Well. I'm an impatient little potato sometimes. Plus, I decided to do a six-heart speedrun of Skyward Sword, so I was really in the mood to post something. I already made it to the mining facility, and it's only been three days :D I also noticed I totally forgot how some areas were laid out. I mean, I'm changing things so that the world's bigger than it is in the game, but still. Hopefully I'll be able to keep things more accurate now that I'm playing again.**

 **Reviews!**

 **Katriss: I love Rinku's sarcasm, too. Now if only I could come up with quips like hers on short notice... Anyways, I figured no one wanted to hear about politics. I know I didn't want to even write them in the first place lmao. The way I see it, thousands of years have passed between when Demise was first sealed and the present day. If Hylians and other races that fought alongside Hylia have completely forgotten their history, it makes sense that the demons would as well, though with Ghirahim flaunting about, it's more apathy to the situation rather than forgetting. I'll keep the name thing in mind, too. I'm just really bad at coming up with names. If you stick in all of the Japanese names into a translator, you'll see how lazy I was XD**

 **Guest #1 & 2: Glad you're liking the story so far! I've got a better idea of what I want to do with the story now than when I first started, so I'm planning on seeing this thing through to the end. It might just take a few years.**

 **Guest #1: I have the moderate reviews option on for guest reviews, so if I don't go in and accept them right away, it takes a few days for them to show up. I was confused when I first reviewed a story as a guest, so you're not alone!**

 _Chapter posted 5.30.18_

* * *

 _Chapter 11: Skyview_

The room went from quiet tension to cacophonous mess in seconds after Osoku relayed his news. There were people who stared in shock, people standing up and cheering, people shouting that the Spirit Maiden wasn't real. Some even ran over to Osoku, demanding more details about what exactly happened. Ghirahim was one of those people. I couldn't hear Osoku's answer over the background noise, but he must have told Ghirahim where Zelda was spotted, because shortly after approaching Osoku, Ghirahim turned on his heel with a huge grin on his face. Without so much as a word of warning, he grabbed my arm and snapped, teleporting us out of the room.

I fought off nausea as we reappeared at our destination. While my ears were grateful for being relieved from the noise, I would have rather stayed in the room than deal with Ghirahim's warping magic again. As I was all but dragged by Ghirahim, I slowly became aware of our surroundings. Grass. Trees. Giant mushrooms. Stone path? I looked up. We were in front of the temple that I had warped to during my first encounter with Ghirahim.

"Ah, Skyview Temple, of course she would appear here. Why didn't I think of this before?" Ghirahim began voicing his thoughts. "Well, no matter. The goddess is all but mine now. That abysmal barrier is still in place, but I'm certain there will be a way through it inside the structure." With another snap of his fingers, we warped from outside the temple to a room somewhere deep within.

I groaned as I fell to the floor, barely keeping myself from hurling. "Give me a fucking warning when you're going to do that, asshole. Did you already forget that I don't have a high tolerance for your warp magic?"

Ghirahim glanced down at me. "On the contrary, I do believe I told you that you reacted better than most Skyloftians." He walked over to what appeared to be a door emblazoned with Hylia's symbol. Running his hand along the grooves, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, guarded by another barrier, but it's weaker than the one outside. Perhaps I'll be able to break through it." Summoning a sword, he began to hack away at the door, sparks flying with every impact.

By then, I had mostly recovered from Ghirahim's magic and looked around. The room was huge, but sparse in decor and lighting. The only objects around the room were some ancient-looking pots, and the only light came from a few torches as well as a hole in the high ceiling. It was my turn to frown. "Wait, this is the deepest part of the temple, isn't it? Aren't we cheating by just warping down here?" After exploring more dungeons and temples than I cared to count, it somehow felt wrong to not explore any of it and jump straight to the end.

"It's only cheating if there are rules to break, and last I checked, there are none." Ghirahim paused his swings for a moment and leaned against the wall. "Besides, the crystal above the entrance was activated, which means someone else besides us and our target is already here. I doubt the Spirit Maiden would have left the door open, after all. Perhaps it was that boy in the green tunic I saw wandering around the woods a few days ago. He didn't seem like the cautious type, after all."

I was ready to snap at Ghirahim for saying Zelda was my target, but what he mentioned after that made the words catch in my throat. A boy in a green tunic? Knights wore tunics as their uniforms, but none of them were green. Karane's was the closest, but even that was more of a yellow-green. If there was a Hylian walking around in a green tunic and it wasn't me, it had to be Link.

"Come to think of it, his outfit is remarkably similar to yours, skychild," Ghirahim continued as he resumed swinging at the door. "Is that a common fashion amongst Skyloftians? Green tunics and floppy hats? The tunic itself is fine, but the hat is horrendous. It looks like you're wearing a windsock on your head!"

"Hey!" I pouted as I protectively grabbed my hat. "I like my hat!"

Before our banter could continue, the giant doors on the opposite side of the room began to creak open. As the opening enlarged, I could make out a person with blond hair and a green tunic pushing the doors open with incredible effort. Link. With the new tunic and sword on his back, he looked far more prepared to play the part of the Hero than when I had last seen him.

As the door began to close behind him, Link began to look around the room with a worn-out expression. His eyes widened once he noticed me. "Rinku! Oh, thank Hylia, you're still alive!" With newfound energy, he ran across the room and enveloped me in a hug. "It's been so long since you fell into that tornado, everyone thought you were dead! We kept trying to get past the cloud barrier, but our loftwings wouldn't fly through it. Zelda kept talking about the surface as well, and then one day, she just upped and vanished! She wasn't anywhere in the sky. That night, some spirit came to my room and led me to the Goddess Statue, and guess what? There was a room underneath it! That's where I got this sword, by the way. It's so much cooler than the ones the knights use, right? Gaepora said it was made to be used by—"

"As touching as this little reunion is, I'm afraid I must cut it short." Ghirahim finally made himself known, causing Link to stumble away from me in shock at the new voice. "Goodness, were you so eager to catch up to your friend here that you failed to notice me? What an airheaded move, though I suppose it's fitting, considering you live in the sky."

"Rinku," Link cautiously began, "who's that? And why is…he in here with you?"

I bit back a laugh as Link tried to take in what he was seeing. It was hilarious to watch his reaction to Ghirahim, but I knew playtime was over. "That's Ghirahim. He's the asshole trying to kill Zelda."

"I am more than capable of introducing myself, skychild," Ghirahim growled. "As my servant crudely put it, I am the Demon Lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this world you call the surface. You may call me Ghirahim. In truth, I very much prefer to be indulged with my full title: _Lord_ Ghirahim. But I'm not fussy." He allowed his sword to dissipate as he began to strut around the room. "I would not necessarily say I am trying to kill your precious little friend. Nay, I need her alive if I am to resurrect my master, and I can sense her here…just beyond this door."

Link visibly tensed when Ghirahim mentioned Zelda. Before I could stop him, he drew his sword, causing its sound to echo across the room. "You need to leave Zelda alone. Now."

Ghirahim let out a dark laugh. "Did you really just draw your sword? Foolish boy. By all rights, the girl should have fallen into our hands already. She was nearly ours when this blasted skychild threw herself into my tornado in place of Her Majesty." The torches around the room began to flicker as Link and I stepped away from Ghirahim. "Do you have any idea how that made me feel inside once I discovered the ruse? Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!"

Ghirahim warped, causing our eyes to dart around the room trying to find him. I unconsciously reached for my sword and shield, only to be met with open air. I gritted my teeth. This was bad.

"I could have killed this skychild the instant I discovered she was not Her Majesty, you know," Ghirahim said. "Yet I decided she had the potential to be useful. She has already done so a few times already, and now is her biggest moment yet." A hand grabbed my arm out of nowhere, ripping me away from Link. "Sweet, dearest, _darling_ Rinku, would you be so kind as to remove this scum from my sight? You needn't murder him, I won't be that harsh, but I would quite enjoy seeing you beat him within an inch of his life!"

I cringed at how sickeningly sweet Ghirahim was trying to be. Once his grip on my arm loosened, I tore myself away from him and ran back to Link's side. "As if! I will _never_ do anything to harm Zelda or Link. No matter what you try to threaten me with, my spirit will stand strong." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Link look at me and smile in relief at my statement.

Ghirahim shook his head and warped his cloak away. "Truly now? What a shame. I had hoped you would have changed your mind after I sheltered you for so long, but I suppose your kind has always been rather ungrateful."

"Sheltered me my ass," I bit back. "You threw me in a cell for over a month and used me like a slave! In what world is that hospitality?"

"Ah, so you _are_ naïve enough to believe you could have survived down here on your own. Let me assure you, survival in the wild is nothing like the soft life you lived up in the sky." Ghirahim's gaze narrowed. "Bah! Enough of this chatter. If you won't fight this boy, I will, and I won't hesitate to attack you as well, should you get in my way."

Ghirahim began walking towards us without summoning his sword. He was planning on toying with us, just like he did with me during our first encounter. I quickly looked around the room for something I could use as a weapon. My eyes latched onto the pots I noticed earlier. They weren't anywhere close to being a dangerous weapon, but they looked heavy enough to do some damage.

"Link," I quietly hissed, "I'm going to try and distract Ghirahim. When his focus is completely on me, you run in and slash at him. Be careful, though. If you telegraph your attacks, he's going to grab your sword and take it from you."

"What?" Link looked bewildered. "How the hell could he do that? And what does telegraph even mean?"

"Look, just throw in a fake before you actually attack. Fake left, swing up, fake right, swing diagonal, that type of thing. Come on, we need to move!"

I ducked and rolled to the side as Ghirahim threw several daggers at us. As I got up, I grabbed one of the nearby pots. It was coated in dust and felt like it could break at any moment, but it would have to do. Looking back at my opponent, I saw that he was already advancing on Link, who looked rather intimidated by the demon.

"Hey, diamond boy, over here!" I chucked the pot as hard as I could. Ghirahim glanced over at me and leaped back to avoid a pot to the head. It shattered with a satisfying crash on the wall behind him.

"Did you not heed my warning? Foolish child," Ghirahim snarled. With inhuman speed, Ghirahim ran over and slammed me against the wall, hand tight on my throat. "In case you have forgotten, I still have your equipment. You are completely at my mercy. If you wish so desperately to die, then I shall gladly—gah!"

Ghirahim suddenly released me, allowing me to crawl away and gasp for much-needed air. Glancing up, I saw that Link had taken advantage of the distraction and slashed Ghirahim across his back. While it didn't seem like a very deep cut, it was enough to cause blood to ooze out of the wound, dyeing the white cloth a crimson red.

With a glare, Ghirahim charged at Link. He gasped and threw up his shield, barely getting it up in time to block Ghirahim's fist. The impact still had him sprawling back and shaking out his left arm. The impact was so strong, in fact, that the wooden shield had splintered where Ghirahim had made contact with it. If Link hadn't gotten it up in time, that would have been his face instead.

Looking back at his opponent, Link swung his sword, but Ghirahim easily deflected the attack with a wave of his arm. On his second attack, Link remembered what I had told him earlier. He feigned a swing, then slashed in the opposite direction, creating a long cut along Ghirahim's torso.

I sprang back up and grabbed another ancient pot, not ready to call it quits yet. Running as quietly as I could, I approached Ghirahim from behind and grabbed onto him, smashing the pot into the side of his head. Once it shattered, I kept my grip on the shard of pottery that remain in my hand and tried to slash at Ghirahim's face and neck. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep that up for long. Ghirahim grabbed me by my tunic and threw me over his shoulder. I hit Link squarely in the chest, and the two of us collapsed in a heap to the ground.

"You brats need to learn your place." With a snap, Ghirahim summoned his sword from earlier and brandished it at us. Without a moment of hesitation, he charged at us, ready to run us through.

I gasped and quickly glanced at Link. The boy was still winded from having me thrown into him and was nowhere near ready to parry the attack. Thinking fast, I grabbed the sword from his hand and raised it to meet Ghirahim's. The clang of metal rang through the air as I struggled to keep the obsidian blade from slicing us in two.

 _Master…_ I blinked as an unfamiliar voice spoke in my mind. _No. You are not Master Link, yet you seem to possess the same spirit as him. How peculiar._

 _I don't have time for this,_ I thought as I continued to fight. _Whoever you are, don't tell Link about the spirit thing. And, unless you're going to say something helpful, shut up._

 _As you wish,_ the voice responded. _I am Fi, the spirit within the Goddess Sword and servant of Hylia—_

Ghirahim's blade inched closer to my face. _Didn't ask, don't care, I need to beat this guy._

 _My analysis indicates that Ghirahim's strength far surpasses the enemies my Master has previously encountered. I calculate only a 15% chance of beating him as you are; however, if you try to take out his balance, there is a 70% chance that you and Master Link will be able to recover from your current position._

 _Oddly specific, but I'll take it._ In one motion, I shifted the blades slightly higher above my head and swung my leg out at Ghirahim's knees. Shock replaced the smirk he had on his face as he suddenly found himself falling sideways. I used the opening to launch myself at Ghirahim, causing him to roll back to his feet and meet me blade-to-blade. I heard something shuffling away from us, signaling that Link was able to get up and move out of the way.

"Link, you should really be the one doing this," I grunted as Ghirahim and I traded blows. "I can't fight all of your battles for you. The sword chose you, not me."

"She does have a point, boy," Ghirahim taunted. "After all, it should be a gentleman protecting a lady, not the other way around."

"S-shut up. It's not my fault she's more experienced than me!" Link stumbled over his words, embarrassed that he couldn't do much to help in the fight.

With Ghirahim distracted at Link's expense, I ducked down and rolled around my opponent, giving myself the opportunity to twirl and slash at his already wounded back. Ghirahim howled in pain before jumping away, glaring at me and Link.

"Well…" Ghirahim began, pointing his sword at us. "You put up more of a fight than I would have thought possible with only one weapon between the two of you. But don't clap for yourselves quite yet. That sword and the girl's skills are the only reasons you still live." He glanced over to the sealed door. "I fear I spent far too long teasing and toying with you. The girl's presence has all but faded from this place, which means there's no reason to linger here." Without warning, he reached over and grabbed my arm with such strength, I was surprised that it didn't break. "Good-bye, boy. Run and play this time. Get in my way again, though, and you're dead."

I sensed the magic building up around us as Ghirahim prepared to warp. In the seconds before we did, I quickly threw the Goddess Sword back to Link. "Link! Find the Master Sword! Save Zelda!"

Link reached out to me as if to say something, but it was too late. My vision was engulfed by diamonds as the magic was released, and Ghirahim and I were warped out of the temple.

* * *

 **Looks like Rinku has do do all the work around here. Oh well. Tbh, this was originally going to be two chapters, but then I realized that both of them would be horribly short, so I mashed them together.**

 **So long as I can keep up on both writing and schoolwork, I'm going to try and post one chapter a week. I have chapters 12 and 13 done, 14 is in the process of being written (aka I have the words "Chapter 14" on a word doc lmao), and I have outlines all the way through chapter 20. Obviously, passing my class comes first, so if I find myself drowning in ochem hell, this is the first thing that's getting thrown on the backburner.**

 **See you guys next week, maybe not at the same time, but definitely the same trashcan!**


	13. Indecision

**It's the weekend, which means it's time for another chapter! I have something I need to say, but I'm gonna stick it at the end so that this doesn't get too wordy.**

 **Linkachu: Eyyy, I see what you did there XD Glad to hear you're enjoying the story!**

 **Katriss: Yeah, I figured some alterations were in order because there's no way Rinku would keep her mouth shut. Plus, she'd been gone from Skyloft for a month. Link was bound to be worried about her.**

 **Water Solace: Hooo, this a long one. I'll break it up into parts.**

 **-Yeah, I've never been a big fan of stories that make the girls seem weak. Where's the fun in that? Tbh, the original reason I made OoT Link female is because when I first started writing this, I had little to no confidence in my ability to write from a guy's perspective. I feel a bit better about it now, but I decided to keep with it for my sanity**

 **\- I actually got the idea to use Rinku from A Tale of Two Rulers! For those who don't know, it's a super good in-progress comic online. I know it's on Tumblr, idk about anywhere else, but I recommend reading it! Before I rewrote this story, I had originally used Kurokuu (calling out high schooler me for coming up with lame names. Fiona also had a lame name that I can't even remember anymore)**

 **-Yup, the reason Rinku's sentences were less than graceful at first is because of the language barrier!**

 **-Normal falling physics? From a height of way-too-fucking-high? That makes too much sense!**

 **-You see, the reason Rinku knows about the Hero of Twilight is because [spoilers] and [spoilers]. Also, [spoilers]. Do not fear, there is a master plan behind my dumbassery!**

 _ **(It's been awhile, so obligatory I don't own the Zelda franchise, blah blah blah)**_

 _ **Chapter posted 6.9.18 ...nice**_

* * *

 _Chapter 12: Indecision_

I wasn't given even a second to recover from the warp before I was shoved against a tree and had a dagger held against me. I gulped. Ghirahim was pissed.

"You! How dare you get in my way!" Ghirahim yelled. "I was _so close_ to finally capturing the Spirit Maiden, and not only did you refuse to fight for me, you fought for that stupid child of Hylia! You betrayed me!" He shook his head and pressed the dagger closer to my throat. "Do you not recall the events of the meeting? Many of them thought the idea of bringing back my Master laughable. If I had captured the Spirit Maiden, I could have shown them all just how wrong they were to sneer down upon me as if they were of higher status!"

I looked Ghirahim directly in the eyes. The meeting happened that day, of course I hadn't forgotten how the other demons were against reviving Demise. It seemed more like he was the one who forgot that I was also against the revival.

"I could very easily kill you right here," Ghirahim continued. "You've tested my patience time and time again. That alone is infuriating, and then you have the audacity to change sides on me! Have you no honor?"

"I'd like to point out that I never agreed join your side in the first place," I grumbled, careful to keep my throat from moving against the blade being held to it.

"Quiet! I never asked for you to speak. I have you at my mercy. One flick of the wrist, and your life is over. And yet…" Ghirahim faltered, lowering the blade ever so slightly. "And yet I cannot seem to get myself to do it. It should be so simple, and yet it feels as though there is a force, an unseen bond between us that keeps me from killing you outright. What spell did you place on me, you useless skychild?"

I looked at Ghirahim in confusion. I had no clue what "bond" he was rambling on about, but it wasn't like that was the only weird thing that ever happened to me. If this bond was keeping me alive, I wouldn't question it. "I'm not talented enough with magic to do something like that. If what you're saying is true, then it's an outside force that did it, not me."

Ghirahim glared at me for several seconds before sighing. "You don't appear to be lying. Perhaps it's some string of fate that keeps me at bay. Well, if you truly haven't casted any spells, answer this: why did you betray me like that? I placed my faith in you, and you went and shattered it without hesitation."

My mind raced to come up with an excuse. I couldn't exactly tell him that Link was me in a past life, after all. I had to choose my words—and reason—carefully. "Well, I thought it was already clear I'm not for sacrificing Zelda, but I guess not. Plus, why would I want to hurt my own brother?" It wasn't a far cry from the truth, but I still had to hope Ghirahim wouldn't sniff out the lie.

"Your…brother?" Ghirahim scrutinized my face before letting me go in disgust. "Yes, I suppose the two of you do share strikingly similar features, namely your horrible taste in clothing."

"Hey, come on, quit dissing my hat already!"

"Do not act as if we are on familiar terms, skychild," Ghirahim snapped. "You still got in my way, and that is quite frustrating. Although…" A grin appeared on his face, one that I wanted to wipe off, preferably with a sword. "If I have you captive, perhaps I could get that boy to bend to my will. I doubt he'd want to see his precious little sister getting hurt by the big, bad demon, after all."

I winced and looked at the ground. A hostage situation was definitely not something that had crossed my mind before I spoke, but there wasn't a way for me to back out of what I had said. I could only hope that Link and Ghirahim wouldn't be in the same place long enough for the topic to come up.

A rustle somewhere behind Ghirahim caught my attention. I looked around warily as my instincts kicked in. A normal person in a normal situation might have thought it was just wildlife, but I wasn't exactly a normal person, nor was I in a normal situation.

The glint of metal was all I needed to spring into action. "Get down!" I grabbed Ghirahim's arm and tugged him to the ground, cursing myself all the while for saving his life again. A crudely-made blade flew through the air where Ghirahim had just been and embedded itself in a nearby tree. Bokoblins streamed out of the trees seconds later, each brandishing a sword like the one thrown.

"I am absolutely not in the mood to deal with you rebellious scum," Ghirahim snarled as he summoned his sword. "Get out of my sight!"

Ghirahim leapt to his feet and began smiting the bokoblins as they swarmed us. Most of the bokoblins were focused on him, but there were a few that noticed my lack of weaponry and aimed for whom they believed to be the easier target. I ducked and dodged their blades as I slowly but surely made my way over to the sword in the tree. By the time I reached it, the owner had as well, and it glared at me as it reached for the handle.

"Oh, buzz off already! I need this more than you do!" I decked it in the face with my fist and with a grunt, tossed it away as it tried to recover its footing. With it out of my way, I returned my attention to the sword and pulled it out of the tree. The blade was dull and in dire need of repair, but it would have to do.

Sword in hand, I whirled around and joined Ghirahim in confronting our attackers. I made sure to keep my distance, though. There were a few times his swings nearly hit me, and after what had just transpired, I doubted they were accidental. I silently thanked the bokoblins for homing in on Ghirahim. Fighting hordes of enemies was not something I had much experience in. Generally, I'd end up fighting a few of them at a time as I explored dungeons, which made picking them off much easier.

Once the last bokoblin turned to dust, I sighed and dropped my defensive stance. That was a mess I'd rather not have to deal with again anytime soon. Knowing Ghirahim was watching me, I allowed the sword I was using to clatter to the ground, signaling that I had no intentions of continuing the fight from the temple.

"You know, skychild, you seem to have a hard time choosing a side," Ghirahim said with a raised brow. "You're constantly switching between trying to kill me and saving my life. It's quite perplexing."

"Pah! You're just lucky I have a second nature for saving people," I scoffed. "If I had more restraint, I'd let you be cleaved in two, no questions asked."

"How touching to know that you care." Ghirahim crossed his arms and looked away. "I do believe it would be best if we went back to the manor, lest more rebels show up."

I tilted my head in curiosity. "So you're not just going to dump me out here?"

"No, but if you dare double-cross me again, I might just do so. Now, let's go, before I change my mind."

* * *

Once the day was over, I was forced to sleep in the cell I was originally placed in. I couldn't find it in myself to be mad at Ghirahim for that. I mean, I was still mad at him for trying to capture Zelda, but that was a different story entirely. I could understand him not wanting to be near me for a while. Frankly, I was surprised he even took me back to the manor in the first place.

The screech of unoiled metal followed by light footsteps alerted me to someone's presence. Fiona. She was carrying a small basket that held a blanket as well as a bit of food.

"Well, would you look at that," I laughed. "It's almost like the first time we met; I had the shit beaten out of me, got thrown in a cell by diamond boy, and you came in to make sure I don't die of hypothermia."

"You appear to be quite cheery despite your current situation," Fiona remarked as she unlocked my cell. "You have also proven yourself to be quite the troublemaker. I have never seen anyone cause Lord Ghirahim this much trouble in multiple years as you have within the timespan of a month."

I shrugged as I accepted the basket from her. "Well, I'd like to think that it's not that I find trouble, it's that trouble finds me. I can't remember the last time I went even half a year without something going horribly wrong!" I couldn't help but laugh when I thought about how often misfortune struck me, even during my time on Romani Ranch. Cow stampedes, cucco attacks, the nights when "They" tried to abduct the cows…

As fond as I was of the memories, they also had some bitterness to them. I hadn't seen anyone from Termina in over a year. There was no way for me to know if I'd ever set foot in that world again. If I never went back, I had left Cremia and Romani without any form of notice, and just the thought of that made me feel awful. They gave me a place to stay when I found I couldn't get back to Hyrule.

Hyrule. I may have been gone from Termina for a long time, but I had been gone from Hyrule, _my_ Hyrule, even longer. I was physically ten when I had last touched the soil of the Lost Woods. My body aged seven years since then. I was almost a completely different person, and Hyrule probably looked different, too. Were the Kokiri still confined to the forest? Was Princess Zelda doing alright? And Navi. Was she even still alive? I never found her after she disappeared in the Temple of Time, and there were times I missed the company and light she gave me.

"Rinku, are you still listening?" Fiona's voice jarred me back to reality, serving as a reminder that retreating into my thoughts was not an appropriate thing to do during a conversation. "Perhaps you should get some rest. I would imagine that the day was not the kindest to you. I will come to fetch you in the morning. Until then, I bid you goodnight."

"Yeah, you could say that. Night, Fiona." I laid down on the hard bed and, after what felt like hours of tossing and turning, allowed sleep to take me away.

* * *

 **That probably wasn't the greatest chapter, but hey, the things I do for Plot(tm)**

 **Now, the thing I need to say. Turns out organic chemistry is going to be hard, but not in the way I expected. The department's a bit…disorganized? And that makes it difficult to figure out what to do/where to even begin. I doubt I'll have a lot of time to write over the next month. I'll still try to finish up Chapter 14 so that I'll still have two chapters locked and loaded, but there's a high chance this story will hit a bit of a hiatus. I'll be sure to mention my plans once that time comes.**

 **Until next time, dear readers!**


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